Food Storage, Emergency Preparedness and Weekly/Monthly Assignment (Week of April 6th)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 184th Annual General Conference will be this Saturday, April 5th  9am-11am and 1pm-3pm and Sunday, April 6th 9am-11am and 1pm-3pm (Pacific Coast Time USA)

This is a great time to receive instruction and spiritual guidance from the General Authorities of our church. You can watch it on some television cable/satellite channels, at lds.org, or most LDS church buildings throughout the world. Check for the times in your area. Your life will be blessed and it will help you be prepared spiritually!

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit."

(Nepoleon Hill, an American USA author)

Think about this quote for a moment. What does it mean to you? 

To me it means even though trials and difficulties may come, out of them will come great or greater blessings! Being prepared will bring those blessings! 

HELP WANTED...those who have their 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have their 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Family Bag ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have their Family Emergency Medical Bag/Box ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have their Emergency Cleaning Bucket ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have a 3-Month supply of food storage ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have drinking water storage ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have some short of shelter in case you cannot stay in your home ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have some short of emergency cooking equipment ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have some short of way to have light when the electricity goes out ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have some way to take care of sanitation ready!

HELP WANTED...those who some way to heat when the gas or electricity goes out ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have emergency supplies ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have basic first-aid skills ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have an evacuation plan ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have a fire plan and practice it regularly ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have earthquake, tornado, hurricane, flooding, fire preparations ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have pandemic preparations ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have civil unrest, Martial Law preparations ready!

HELP WANTED...those who have spiritual preparation ready!

HELP WANTED...THOSE WHO ARE READY!

Are you ready for what may come your way? Do you feel overwhelmed with all these tasks? It takes time to prepare. As long as you have a plan and are daily making an effort to work towards it you will succeed, you will be prepared and you will be blessed! Heavenly Father will watch over you!

This blog is here to help you become better prepared! Use it, show it to your family, friends and co-workers. 

       EARTHQUAKE! EARTHQUAKE!! EARTHQUAKE!!!

For those of us in Southern California USA did you feel the earthquake and many after shocks this weekend? How did it make you feel, scared, unprepared? Grateful you were prepared? Were things thrown off the shelves and walls, did things break, was your house damaged? What about the 8.2 one in Chile, did you feel it, did loved ones?

The California USA seismic geological department said after 15-20 years of quiet time it appears the seismic activity in California USA may be increases. In the 1980's we had several large earthquakes in California USA causing major damage, injuries and some death. The past few weeks we have had a few earthquakes in Southern California USA, one in Chino and now one in La Habra, 5.1 with over 100+ aftershocks, this past weekend. 

This past Sunday a few of my church Ward members came up to me saying they need to better prepared and were working on being prepared by getting their 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Backpacks together and other items they might need. One said, "We slacked off!" You can never slack off, you need to be prepared at all times. It is never too late to prepare, do not procrastinate! You never know when the "big one" might happen! 

What can you do to prepare for an earthquake?

Click on "Before, During and After an Earthquake" for some great information.  You can also go to your local government website for more information on earthquake preparedness.

Earthquake Kit: Each family member should have an earthquake kit under their bed. The kit should be tied to the bed post under the bed. If an earthquake happens you will be able to quickly locate it. The rule about being in bed when their is an earthquake: 1. Stay in bed and cover your head and body with the blankets. Or, 2. Lie along side the bed on the floor, covering your self with the blankets. 

The Earthquake Kit should be in an extra large zip lock plastic bag with the following inside... 

1) pair of sturdy shoes with socks tucked inside (there may be broken glass on the floor, if dark you will not be able to see it)

2) flashlight (check the batteries every 6 months)

3) bottle of water

4) prescription medications that person takes (enough for 3 days in case you are trapped, with instructions on the bottle or plastic zip lock bag)

5) extra pair of old glasses (your current ones my be broken or hard to find after the earthquake)

6) crowbar in the bag or tied to the bed post (at least one for each bedroom (you may be trapped and need it to pry open doors, windows)

What you need to do to prevent damages...

 

1) attach all book cases to the wall with a "L" bracket or an earthquake strap

2) secure all cupboards with baby security like locks, especially the top cupboards

3) secure all pictures on the wall so they do not come flying off

4) valuable object secure to the shelf with earthquake putty

5) heavy objects like televisions and stereo equipment should be secured so they do not fly off

5) remove wheels from baby cribs so they do not roll in front of the door blocking the entrance
6) your water heater needs to be securely strapped to the wall 
7) have gas wrech attahed to your main gas meter (only turn off if you smell gas)
8) know where to turn off your main water supply

Note: Most of the hardware and products you need to accomplish this are sold at your local hardware store.

Click here to read an article by Mike Adams, "10 Urgent (Earthquake) Preparedness Tips to Survive a Damaged City". Some good ideas.

We all should be prepared for what ever type of natural disaster (earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, forest fires) that are in the area where we live. Being prepared brings peace of mind and protects our loved ones!

Tornado Season is Upon 

the Midwest and South USA

Know what to do if you find yourself in a tornado warning or tornado click here Tornado Preparedness to find some great information.

Important: If in a tornado get rid of your cell phone. It attracts the lightening and it will kill you!

Weekly Assignment: Emergency Cleaning Bucket                                    

Have you ever thought about needing emergency cleaning supplies? For the next few weeks we are going to work on setting up an Emergency Cleaning Bucket. Each week we will add 1-3 items. Most of these items can be found for a dollar each at a discount store (99 Cent Store, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar, etc.). You want to purchase small-medium bottles so all of it will fit in one bucket. Watch the video on the March 16th posting on how to fit everything into the bucket. As we add each item place it into the bucket. Mark the bucket with a permanent marker--Emergency Cleaning Bucket. You can keep this in your garage or home storage shed.

This week add the following item: 

1) 24 large sturdy 30 gallon black trash bags--roll them up and place them in the Emergency Cleaning Bucket (put the rest of the box in your emergency supplies or with your portable toilet)

New New New

April Monthly Assignment: Shelter

Each family will need some type of shelter in case you cannot stay in your home after a disaster and/or damage to your home. We also keep a small tent (3 person), and a large tarp with # 3-5 below, in our truck in case we might need shelter if a disaster strikes while away from home. 

 

This month add the following to your Emergency Supplies:

1) Tent to accommodate the size of your family (or several small to medium size ones)

2) Large tarps (2-4)

3) 100 feet of rope 

4) Duct tape

5) Clothes pens or heave clips 

6) Hammer with nails

Numbers 2-6 will help you to construct a shelter. Keep all these items together in your garage or home storage shed.

 

Click here to read more information about shelter or go to the right of this blog under "Postings". The Boy Scout Handbook and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Young Woman Camp Manual also has some treat tips on constructing different types of shelters. 

I find Big 5 in Southern California USA have great sales prices on tents this time of year and after the summer. Other sporting goods stores and department stores with a sporting goods department will too. There are also great companies and Amazon.com on the Internet. 

Important: If you have never put a tent together and purchase one put it together before you need it to make sure you know how and all the pieces are there and working properly. 

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

Spring Clean Your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks

Many of us at this time of year Spring clean our houses after being closed off to the winter weather. It is also a great time to Spring clean your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpack for each family member. 

1) Check the Food Kit to replace any expired or almost expired food items.

2) Replace the water.

3) Check on and update prescriptions medications, and other medications, replace as needed.

4) Check to make the clothes in the backpack still fit, especially for children, we sometimes gain or loose weight. Also check on the shoes tied to the backpack, especially for the children. You may want to change the clothing from winter to Spring/Summer clothing with a lighter weight jacket, sweat shirt or sweater.

5) Check the Personal Hygiene Kit products for expiration dates and replace as needed.

 

Food and Water Storage: It is also a good time to go through your food storage and rotate as needed and replace food items you have used. Also rotate the water in your water barrels with bleach added  if it has been more than a year. 

"My Diabetic Emergency Plan"   

Each of us needs to consider our health requirements when planning our Emergency Plan. EmergencyEssentials.com has a wonderful article concerning this matter. Please click on "My Diabetic Emergency Plan" for some great information that may help save your life and your loved ones with medical concerns.


Below is a great video on how to pack your diabetic emergency kit...  

EmergencyEssentials.com (or BePrepared.com) is one of my favorite emergency preparedness websites. Their products are fabulous and inexpensive compared to a lot of other emergency preparedness websites. Check here to see their blog and scroll through all their blog postings that will help you in your emergency preparedness. Their blog is awesome, filled with so much great emergency preparedness information and ideas. Also explore their entire website.

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