Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage and Monthly Assignments (Week of March 1st)

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

Your Bucket List 

 

 

How many of you have a "Bucket List"? Most "Bucket Lists" consist of things you would like to accomplish, things you would like to see and places you would like to go by a certain date or before your life ends.

Why not have a "Bucket List" for emergency preparedness? It should include things like items needed for your food storage and setting goals to accomplish those goals, storing water, having 72 Hour Emergency Backpack for each family member, what items to add monthly to your emergency supplies, setting up family evacuation plans and drills, learning first-aid and CPR, leaning how to turn off utilities when necessary, what to do and how to survive the natural disasters in your area, organizing important documents and keeping them together in a safe place, and much more. Sit down as a family and set goals for your "Emergency Preparedness Bucket List" and dates to accomplish your goals. Check your "Bucket List" often to see how you are progressing. 

Food Storage 101

Long Term verse Short Term . . .

Many people ask me which is best, long term food storage or short term food storage? Both are important. I recommend you store both.

Long Term Food Storage is more expensive but the advantage is that you do not have to rotate it as often, why the higher cost and processing. Long term food storage is either freeze-dried or dehydrated, which just means they remove the moisture so the food last longer and seal them in cans or Mylar pouches. It will keep for 20-30 years depending on how you store it, if possible below 70 degrees in a cool, dry, dark place. Remember, if you store freeze-dried or dehydrated foods you will need to store extra water or have a portable water filtration system on hand. 

Companies I find most reasonable in price are the store.lds.org (limited items) or the LDS Cannery near you and emergencyessentials.com (also know as beprepared.com). I only purchase products from emergencyessentials.com when on sale. You can go to their website and order their catalog, it will come monthly with great sales. Other companies that have great products are honeyville.com and foodforhealthinternational.com (a little pricey unless you can get some great sales).

Short Term Food Storage is less expensive but has to be rotated more often, usually between 1-5 years depending on the type of canned and packaged foods you store. Same goes for how you store it, 70 degrees or less in a cool, dry, dark place. You can use canned foods past their expiration date as long as the can is not bubbled or dented. The problem is that they loose their nutritional value the longer you store them past their expiration date.

The advantage of any type of food storage is prices can become higher, be short handed due to disasters or civil unrest, even become unavailable, loss of a job or income, etc..

An important thing to remember about food storage, either long term or short term, make sure you also store comfort foods like desserts (long term and short term cake mixes, brownie mixes, cookie mixes,) ways to make breads (ingredients and mixes) and pastas. Not just because you will love having them in a crisis, but they are rich in carbohydrates, which will give you much needed energy when you need it most.

What ever you store, make sure it is food your family will eat. Do not store something you know they will not eat, especially children. It is a waste of your money!

Spiritual Preparation 

It is told when Leonardo Da Vinci was painting "The Last Supper" he became angry with a man and lashed out at him. He even threatened him. Then he went back to his fresco and tried to pain the face of Jesus. He couldn't, there was no too much evil stirring inside of him. The lack of peace forced him to put down his brushes, go find the man and ask his forgiveness. Only then did he have the inner calm needed to do the face of his Master. (Higher Power: Seeking God in 12 Step Recovery, page 127, by Douglas D. Himes)

When we have anger in our heart, mind and spirit the Holy Ghost cannot be there. Forgiving others will bring the Spirit back and allow us to hear the warning voice to protect and guide us and our family.

New March Monthly Assignments

Food Storage . . . Beans and Lentils 

Beans and lentils are one of the most inexpensive items to add to your food storage and easiest to store. Beans and lentils give us energy and when combined with rice a full protein. You can purchase them in #10 cans and/or super pails from food storage companies like emergencyessentials.com for long term storage, packaged and canned from your local grocery store or big box stores, store them in their original packing, use the FoodSaver method or Oven method to seal them in Mason jars and store them longer and purchase in bulk from box stores and place in super pails with oxygen absorbers your self. (You can go to YouTube to find videos on these different types of storing foods.) Purchase a variety of beans and lentils, the ones your family eats on a regular bases.

Figure out how many beans and lentils, and what varieties your family eats, for a month, set a goal to purchase what you want to store for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or a year. Add these items as you go along, watch for sales. Remember, store them in a cool, dry and dark place.

Emergency Preparedness . . . 

      Make a Family Evacuation Plan, Fire Drill  

                   Plan, Know Your Resources

Have a family evacuation plan in effect. Practice it often. Also, consider while at work, at the Mall and in a store. Always know your surroundings and the exits. If you have to evacuate - EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY, DO NOT QUESTION OR HESITATE!!! Make sure you wear pants, long sleeve shirts if possible with sturdy shoes. Take your 72 Hour Emergency Kits and Family Bag with you. Use only approved evacuation routes instead of shortcuts which may be impassable. Take along a street map of the local town areas in case you have to take an alternate route. Listen to your portable radio for government and local shelters that have been set up, go there is possible. Only if you have time...take along personal documents, valuables, family photos, genealogy, heirlooms, computer tower (important discs), laptops, things you cannot replace. 

Do You Have a Plan? Go back to the blog posting, May 25, 2014, and scroll down to "Do You Have a Plan?" to see more information about evacuations. 

Fire Drills, Earthquake, Tornado and Other Drills: As a family discuss fire drills and types of drills you may need to practice for the area where you live, example: earthquake, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. Set up escape route plans for a fire in your home. Keep a copy on the back of each bedroom door and different ways to escape. Discuss ways and teach your family how to escape a fire in the home, how to be safe, rules to follow and a safe meeting place away from the house. Teach your family how and where to take cover in a tornado, hurricane and other types of emergencies. The more you practice with your family the safer you will be. We use to have monthly fire drills with our children, different times of the day and night and in different places of the house so they would know what to do. Make sure your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detector are always working properly. 

Fire Safety: Go back to May 4, 2014, scroll down and find great information on fire safety. 

Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA): They have a great website will different areas like earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, etc. you can click on the picture and get valuable information on safety tips. Click here to see them. If you live in a different state Google AAA (your state name), Disaster Preparedness Center to find the type of disasters you have in your area. Even if you live out of the USA you can still find some valuable information that may save your life.

Know your Resources: Call your local City Hall to find out what resources you have in your community. Have a list of the fire department, poison control center, your insurance company agent, FEMA and other local response teams near your phones and on your cell phones. Teach your children how to call 911, when and when not to cal, it is not a game. My daughter once taught her children how to call 911 by actually calling 911, explaining to the officer on the phone what they were doing and let her children practice speaking to the office to report a fire or emergency. They asked the appropriate questions to the children and let them respond. She made sure they understood this was not a game and to only do it when there was an actually emergency and they needed help. You can also take your children to your local fire department and talk to firemen.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas

Safety Tricks from a Former CIA Agent, Jason Hanson . . .

A few days ago I was watching a television program about how to protect your children and yourself. The fellow talking was a former CIA Agent. I found the things he shared interesting and important facts to protect your children, you and your home. We need to be prepared in all types of emergency situations and I found this to be of great value to pass on to all of you.

Your vehicle could be giving away to much information that could cause harm to you, your children, your family and at home.

1) Never put those school bumper stickers on your car that say things like "Honor Student of Hawaiian Avenue School". It shows them that you have a child, where your child attends school and what community you live in.
2) Never put those cute window family decals on your back window showing all your family members names, even the pets. And if you have the school bumper sticker and the names, they can go to the school, call out your child's name and say you have  been hurt and they were sent to pick them up, or grab them. Scary!!!
3) Parking Permits reveal where you live or work on a daily basis.
4) Someone could follow you home, they know how many are in the house by window family decal, number in your family, is Dad away in the military and if you have dog for a home invasion later on.
5) For those of you have the new easy access lock devices to your home on your keys, keep it separate in your purse or wallet or pocket. For those of you who do not know about the new technology, you can have a device on your keys that just needs pushed to open your house doors to make it easier to access your home when you are carrying packages, etc.

Be so careful! Remove all those stickers! 

Know your surroundings!

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