HOW INDEPENDENT COULD YOU BE?
This is a photo of a city without electricity
How many of us are dependent on electricity, gas, electric or propane heating, running water right from our faucets, sanitation, shelter, local grocery stores, doctor's offices, hospitals, pharmacies, drug stores, medications, public transportation, cars, computers and the Internet, and cell phones?
What would you do if these things were no longer available to you, may be for months? Could you take care of seriously injured family members and neighbors? Could you survive without food, water and your prescription medications? Could you keep your family warm? Would you be able to cook and have some source of light?
I think the majority of us would struggle immensely without these things! How prepared are you and your family if you no longer had assess to these things? Could you survive?
It really scares me how little each of us are prepared if we lost these things for a long period of time. Each time I speak with others most of the time they are not prepared, not even with enough food and water for 1-2 weeks. We all think we have time on our side! We think our local and federal government will step in and take care of our needs. Think again! As we have watched on television and listened on the radio we have seen how long it takes for the local and federal government and first responders to step in with help. Some times they cannot get to us for weeks due to torn up roads and roads blocked with debris.
It only takes a second for things to change drastically in our lives! Are we prepared for that?
Our son and daughter-in-law recently visited New Orleans, Louisiana USA on vacation. They walked and drove by areas where Hurricane Katrina hit in August of 2005. They were shocked and amazed at how little has been rebuilt in the area. Many have not come back to the area. There are many more areas in the United States and other countries that have been devastated by natural disasters, many lives have been lost and property and peoples homes and livelihood destroyed.
Would you be able to take care of you and your family, would you be able to survive?
Being prepared brings peace of mind and saves lives!
We need to learn skills and teach our children and grandchildren skills
How many of us know skills like cooking, baking, sewing, repairing things around the house like plumbing, electrical and carpentry, basic first-aid, doing things without the aid of a computer, how to do maintenance on and fix a car, fix appliances, survival (how to set up a shelter, build a fire, cook outdoors, filter water, etc.) and many other skills? There many come a time when we may need to rely on our skills to survive. Are we learning new skills and teaching our children and grandchildren? Skills can provide a way for us to barter for food and things.
A Friend's Personal Story . . .
One friend shared this personal story with me . . . "My son in San Diego (California USA) did not have to evacuate (due to the all the fires around him) but he housed several
families who did have to evacuate. I am glad he had extra food and
water on hand. We never know when we will need it."The same friend goes on to say . . ."Last night we had intermittent power outages. I kept getting up and resetting the clocks and finally decided to give up. I am concerned that our lives are so dependent on electricity and computers and such. I don't know how we would survive if we were without these things for any length of time. My children don't even balance a checkbook, they just do everything financial on the computer. That really scares me." (She lost the use of her electricity, computer and phone for many hours.)
How many of us are dependent on electricity, our computers and the modern conveniences of today? I think the majority of us in the United States and throughout the world are very dependent on them!
When I was in high school many years ago we lost our electricity due to a storm through the night. I typed, we did not have computers in those days and we typed on an old conventional typewriter, my entire term paper by candle light. Was that a challenge!
Cute Emergency Preparedness Story . . .
Another friend shared this . . .
"Last Sunday a parent brought a cake to Primary (our children church organization) to honor her child's birthday. It was great as we were cutting it up and placing pieces on paper plates. Then we realized we had no silverware. I came to the rescue by going to my car trunk and breaking open my 72-hour kit with plastic knives, forks, and spoons. Perhaps not a life-threatening situation, but I was glad I was prepared."
You never know when your emergency supplies will be needed. If you are prepared you can help others!
Keep them coming!
I love when you share your personal stories and experiences. We can all learn from each other and the importance of being prepared. You can email them to me at "theark.carsonward@gmail.com" or leave them in the comment section below.
NEW NEW NEW WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT
Weekly Assignment: Family Emergency Medical Kits
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?
The next few weeks we are going to work on our Family Emergency Medical Kit. We have done this before but I am sure there are some of you who did not do it, never completed it and some things need to be replaced due to expiration dates. 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 do the following:
1) Purchase a large sports bag or medium to large plastic container with a lid. I have found the plastic containers at department stores like Target and Walmart for around $5-$10. A dark one is best to keep out the light. Mark on the bag or box with a permanent marked---"Family Emergency Medical Kit".
2) 4-5 Old magazines. They make great splints for broken arms and legs. Paint stir sticks from the hardware store or small branches or dowels about 12-18" long also work great for making a splint. You will need some type of cloth strips (from old clothes or fabric you have) or an Ace bandage to tie the magazine or sticks in place and to hold the broken bone securely. Personally I like the magazines, they are easier to use and I think they hold the broken bone better in place.
NEW NEW NEW JUNE MONTHLY ASSIGNMENT
June Monthly Assignment: Paper Supplies
This is a great time to work on storing paper supplies since most stores have them on sale due to the many holiday and summer activities, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Graduations, Summer BBQ, Labor Day, etc..
Figure out how many paper products you will need for your family for 3 months, 6 months or a year. Remember, there are 3 meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Most of us use large paper plates, small paper plates, paper bowls, paper cups for hot and cold drinks, plastic silverware and napkins. You can also include paper towels.
Here is an example: Lets say you are going to store enough large paper plates for 6 months. That would be about 183 large paper plates per person. If you have 5 people in your family, you would need to store 915 large paper plates for 6 months. But remember, that is only for one meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Multiply the number of meals a day you would use the large paper plates. Do the same thing for the other paper products you need to store.
Watch for sales. Sometimes the sales at regular grocery stores and department stores like Walmart are better than the big box stores. Compare the prices and save!
This week do the following:
1) Store large paper plates for each family member for the number of months you are preparing for. You can store these in your garage or a home storage shed.
Emergency Preparedness Ideas:
Love this idea . . .
How to grow 100 pounds of potatoes in 4 square feet
For those of us with small back yards, or even large back yards, this is such a great idea. I watched several You Tube videos on how to do this. Some people had great success while others did not. Click on the link above to see how to do this and watch the video below and others on You Tube.
Comments: Please post you comments below. We love to hear about your experiences with emergency preparedness and food storage. We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.
