Food Storage, Emergency Preparedness and Weekly/Monthly Assignment (Week of September 21st)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Torrance Stake Family, Family and Friends,

Making self-reliance a natural 

                                part of your life . . .

"Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to 'prepare every needful thing' (Doctrine and Covenants 109:8) so that , should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support Bishops as they care for others." ("All Is Safely Gathered In, Family Home Storage", The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

As members of our church, other churches, in our local communities and federal government we are encouraged to prepare for adversity in life by having a food storage (3-Monthly Supply and Basic Supply), water, emergency supplies and money in savings.

We need to be wise and not go into debt while building our food storage, water and emergency supplies. With careful planning, we can, over time, establish a food storage supply and a financial reserve. It has taken us 43 years to get to where we are today, and we still have a ways to go.

In some places you many not have the financial resources or space. Some countries it is prohibited by law from storing large amounts of food. Store as much as your circumstances allow. 

Here are some suggestions to help you . . . 

1) Little by little, month by month we can build our food storage and emergency supplies. Each time you go grocery shopping add a few extra cans or packaged items for your food storage. Store only what your family will eat! Remember to rotate our food storage as need, do not waste food or money by letting them expire. First work on getting a 3-Month supply of food, water and then work on the basic food storage (long term; wheat, honey, oats, beans, rice,powdered milk, sugar, dehydrated vegetables, fruits and meats, etc.).

 
2) Have emergency equipment. Have a least one way to cook if you cannot use your conventional stove,
have one source of emergency light, a way to heat, shelter and a way to take care of your sanitation needs. This blog on the right side under "Postings" and weekly postings will give lots of ideas and resources. 

3) Each week take just a couple of dollars from your pay check and put it in your emergency saving jar or a special savings account in the bank marked emergency preparedness. Set priorities. Ask yourself it you really need that new pair of shoes, that new outfit or sports equipment. Can you go with drinks when you go out to eat. Take that money you would have spent and add it to your emergency savings account. Before you know it you will have hundreds of dollars saved. Use that money to purchase food storage, emergency supplies and equipment. Continue to save until you have a least one months salary. 

4) Be creative in your storage space. Clear out things you no longer use. Rearrange cupboards, closets and pantries to allow for your food storage. A great place is under the beds as shown in the picture. After 43 years of storing things we did this. I was amazed at how much extra storage we found. Clean out the garage of unwanted unused things and organize your garage. Organize all your emergency equipment together. When purchasing lamp or side tables, purchase ones with enclosed storage space below. Check out websites showing creative ways to store food storage.

You can do it, a little at a time! Make a plan and make it work! With a plan and a goal you will be successful! 

Weekly Assignment: Family Emergency Medical Kits

 

Many of us have some sort of medical supplies in our homes like band-aids, alcohol, peroxide, anti-infection creams, pain killers, etc.. Some of us have limited first-aid kits in our cars and home that we probably have not checked in months, years. Medications do expire!

If there was a major disaster or emergency situation would you have the proper emergency medical supplies to take care of you, your family and help your neighbors. I would say most of us do not! Right?

Some of these items can be found at discount stores and drug stores. Make sure you check the expiration dates before purchasing them, you want them to last for at least a year or more.

Note: Make sure you keep this out of the reach of your young children and explain to the family is your Family Emergency Medical Kit/Supplies. If you need to use an items from it, make sure you replace it right away!

This week add the following:

 

 1) Cold and cough medications (adult and children)

 

2) Contact lens wearers--extra pair and solution    

September Monthly Assignment . . . Food Storage

Vegetables . . .

This month we are adding vegetables to our food storage. Purchase vegetables each week or as you go grocery shopping. They can be commercially canned, home canning, dehydrated or even frozen. Only add the types of vegetables your family will eat. It has been proven, even in an emergency situation, people are hungry, especially children, they will not eat things they do not like. Do not waste your hard earned money by storing vegetables your family will not eat. As all canned foods, store them in a cool, dry, dark place. Store them in your cupboards, under beds, enclosed lamp and bedside tables, and in closets. The garage is too hot! Most commercially canned and home canning vegetables will last for about 2-3 years if stored properly. Dehydrated and freeze-dried vegetables will store for 20-30 years if stored properly. Frozen vegetables usually only last about a year. Rotate them every time you purchase more. As always, the key to any food storage is rotation!

This week do the following . . .

Continue to add commercially canned, commercially dehydrated and frozen vegetables to your food storage. See the previous September blog postings for September 7th and 14th for more information.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas

Being prepared can take many turns as shown in my two examples below . . .

What to do if your passport gets stolen while traveling . . .

Recently we had a friend who was traveling in Europe. He thought he had his passport in a safe place, tucked in the front pocket of his jeans with a shirt over it. Surely he would know if someone was trying to steal it. Yep, it was stolen with out him even knowing it. Professional pick pocketers are good! This is what he did to get another passport so he could get home.

 

1) First he did the right thing. He knew ahead of time to make a copy of his passport and keep it in another place like his luggage before leaving from home. May be also in a carry on bag too just in case your luggage is lots while traveling.

2) File a police report right away.

3) He went on line and printed out the needed forms.

4) He went to his US Embassy for help.

5) He learned to make sure to keep his passport in a very secure place on him, not in a pocket.

If you were to pass away, would your family know your wishes?

None of us like to think about things like this, but is a part of being prepared. How many times have you had a loved one pass away not known their wishes or how to handle their things and funeral. May be they have already made funeral arrangement with a cemetery. May be they want to be cremated instead of being buried. May be they only want a grave side service or may be they want a service at their church. May be they want a certain type of service with their favorite hymns sung. May be they want a certain person to do the eulogy. If they have no family around, who would you as a friend contact. 

A friend's mother passed away a few weeks ago and her mother had everything planned out. She
had already purchased her burial plot many years ago and had made all the arrangements. Everything was spelled out for the family. When my mother-in-law passed away she had nothing planned. It was a very stressful time for our family. We hoped that her wishes had been meet.

Dealing with my husband's parents passing and my parents passing I learned a lot from these experiences. I put together a folder for our children with all the needed information, like our funeral wishes, social security information, bank information, insurance information and other valuable things they will need to know to make it easier for them at a very difficult time. 

We need to communicate with family members regarding their wishes on their passing. Friends need to know who to contact if no family is near by. It is an important part of being prepared.

We need to be prepared in all aspects of life!

Comments: Please share your comments and experiences below. We all learn from each other. They are gratefully appreciated.