Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage and Monthly Assignments (Week of August 30th)

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

September

National Preparedness Month

What a great month to start preparing!

"It wasn't raining when Noah 

                 built the ark." Brigham Young

This quote has been the theme of my blog, "The Ark", for the last 5 years. 

What did Noah do to prepare his home for the coming storm?

First, he made a plan according to God's instructions, then he built the ark. It did not take just a few days, weeks or months, it took Noah about 100 years. He made sure the ark was sound and built well. People laughed at him as he built and prepared the ark. He warned them and warned them to be prepared but they continued to ignore him. 

Next he gathered in supplies, bedding, clothing, food, water, lighting, and all the supplies they would need for one year, and of course, all the animals and living creatures two by two on the earth. He taught his family the gospel of Jesus Christ, to keep the commandments and to have a strong testimony, to stand strong and not let others influence them. They were not only temporally prepared but spiritually prepared too!

Each of us needs to build OUR "ark"! Each "ark" will not be the same. Each family needs to build their "ark" according to their family's needs, likes and dislikes. Each of us needs to make our "ark" sound and strong from the storms both temporally and spiritually. Each of us needs to gather in our supplies of food, water, medical supplies and emergency equipment and supplies we might need. Each of us needs to listen to the warnings, and admonish them, of our living prophet, prophets of the past, our general church leaders and in the scriptures. Each of us needs to warn our family, our neighbors, our co-workers to be prepared for the coming storms.

President Gordon B. Hinckley in an October 2005 address, "If Ye are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear", stated . . .

"If anyone has doubt concerning the terrible things that can and will afflict mankind, let him read the 24th Chapter of Matthew. Among other things the Lord says, 'Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.' ... For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. ... For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.' He went on to describe many disasters including: the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the Black Plague that killed millions, the Chicago Fire, Pompeii, and the Tsunami in Southeast Asia. Then he said, 'What we have experienced in the past was all foretold, and the end is not yet. Just as there have been calamities in the past, we expect more in the future.' Occasions such as 9/11 pull us up sharply to a realization that 'Life is fragile, peace is fragile, civilization itself is fragile. The economy is particularly vulnerable. We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance. We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies." 

What are some of the contingency we have been forewarned would come our way? Famine, drought, pestilences, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, tsunamis, terrorism and war, and economies failing. How many of these are we seeing these in our day? 

Let's build our "ark" and be prepared for the storms! Let's start right now and not procrastinate as we go along, but stay focused and determined to be prepared! Noah did not build the ark overnight, he built it one board at a time. We to can build our "ark" one thing as a time. 

New September Monthly Assignments

Food Storage: Drinks 

This month we are focusing on adding all types of drinks to our 

short storage and long storage food storage. 

Drinks: Fruit juices (bottles, canned, cartons, dehydrated/freeze-dried), lemonade mix, milk (dehydrated/freeze-dried), hot chocolate mix, apple cider mix, etc.. What ever type of drinks your family will drink. Do not store something they will not drink, a waste of your money. Fruit juices in bottles, cans and cartons do not usually last as long, about a year. Make sure you keep on top of the expiration dates and rotate before they expire. Box powdered milk from the grocery store usually only last about 6 months. Rotate them as needed. Use the milk so your family will be accustomed to drinking it, use while cooking and where milk is call for in recipes. There are long term storage dehydrated/freeze-dried milks that are whole milk, watch the expiration dates on these, they may not store 20+ years, it may only be 7-10 years.

How much to store: Determine how much your family drinks, each variety, in a month, multiply that by the number of months you have set your food storage goal. Each time you go grocery shopping or find the types of drinks you are storing on sale purchase them and add them to your food storage. Always be on the look out and aware of sales throughout the year.

Where to store: In a cool, dry, dark place like your pantry or a closet. Never in the garage, to hot!

Remember: Rotation, Rotation, Rotation is the success of any food storage.

Emergency Supplies: 
             72 Hour Emergency Family Bag

You can use a sports bag or a backpack

  

 The 72 Hour Emergency Family Bag is an important part of your 

72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpacks. 

This bag contains items you might need during the emergency that you cannot get into your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpacks. Click here to see what items to add to this bag. You can also review this list on the right side of this blog under "Postings". Some items can get purchased at discount stores (99 Cent Store, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, etc.), some online and some at department and sporting goods stores, some you may have around the house. 

Emergency Preparedness Ideas

New discovery . . . 

Did you know that WalMart now carries Auguson Farms long term food storage on their website?  You can order online and then arrange to pick it up at your local WalMart or for a prices have them shipped to you. You may also be able to purchase them in the store. They also carry some Mountain House products.


I have not used the Auguson long term food storage brand but I understand it is good. There prices are really good.

Click here to review the products they sell. I am quite impressed with the variety they sell. Scroll through the 5 pages. Jim Bakker also sells these on his website but you will pay a lot more and his shipping is expensive and can take up to 6 weeks for delivery.


Learning Knot Tying and Lashing . . . 

What? I need to learn how to tie knots and lashing too? 

Yes, you never know when you might need to secure something, like a tarp or tent or build a shelter, by using knots and lashing. Different types are used for different things. If you do not know how, invite a Boy Scout, if you know one, to come to your home and teach you. Have a Family Home Evening on this subject. It can be great fun, make a contest out of it.Continue to practice your know tying so you do not forget.

Comments and Questions:  We love hearing from you. Please leave you comments or questions below. We all learn from each others experiences and knowledge. If you have a question please leave it below, I will do some research and answer it in my next blog posting. Thank you for sharing your comments and questions.

Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage and Monthly Assignments (Week of August 23rd)

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

President Spencer W Kimball, the 12th President and Prophet of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" had a sign on his desk, "Do It". He later expanded it to "Do it now". He stated, "One of the most serious human defects in all ages is procrastination, an unwillingness to accept personal responsibilities
now. . . " (Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Spence W. Kimball, (2004), pg 4-5).

Many of us want the simple way. It is easier to let others do the work and us sit back expecting the rewards of their hard work. We are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families, no one else. It is our responsibility to provide food, water, shelter, clothing, safety and the spiritual and temporal needs of our family. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints has warned and admonished its members, and the world, for years to be prepared for hard times, for times of disasters, for the things that may come our way. Not just disasters, but hard economical times, health issues, and many others thing that can happen in life.

I have learned over the years, once I have a plan in place and listed the goals to accomplish that plan and put it where I can see it daily, it will happen. When I sit back and wish for it, it never happens. Why not start today, make a plan to have food storage, water, emergency supplies and a rainy-day savings on hand, set some goals to accomplish it, work towards them, and feel the peace of mind that comes from knowing you and your family are prepared and protected.

August Monthly Assignments

Food Storage: Spices and Herbs

Spices and herbs are an important part of cooking, even in a disaster or emergency situation. 

Where to purchase: I like to purchase my spices, herbs and seasonings from big box stores like Costco or Sam's Club, shops that sell India seasonings in bulk (less expensive) and long term food storage companies like emergencyessentials.com. Emergency Essentials has them in 2.5 cans and some in #10 cans. They store for 20 years. I prefer the 2.5 cans. Sprouts also sells spices and herbs in bulk. Buying in bulk is less expensive than purchasing the small bottles and containers from regular grocery stores. Watch the expiration dates at discount stores. If you purchase them from bulk item stores or an India store purchase airtight containers to transfer their packaged herbs and spices into.

How much do I need? Determine what spices, herbs and seasonings your family uses in cooking. Determine how much you will need for your food storage goals.

How to store: Like all food storage, in a cool, dry, dark place. 

Emergency Preparedness: 

      72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpacks

            (or Grab and Go Bag or Bug-Out-Bag) 

 

 

Each family member in your house hold should have a 72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpack/Kit. Click here to see what items should be in each backpack/kit. There are 3 kits within the backpack plus other items that will help with your survival---

1) Food Kit (Adjust according to each family members age and medical needs)
2) Hygiene Kit (Provides items that will help you feel better)
3) Stressor Kit (Help family members deal with the stress of a disaster or emergency situation)

Note: We also have strapped to each backpack a water filtering sports bottle from store.lds.org (Seychelle Water Filtration). If you need extra water it will filter out 99.9999% of all bacteria and contamination.

If you already have your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks . . .

Important: If you have not rotated the food for awhile, a year, or 6 months if kept in your car, this would be a good time to do so. Also, to re-evaluate the food in your kits, diets and medications change and taste change. With some medications you cannot eat grapefruit or other foods. Also, sizes change, especial for children, replace clothing and shoes as needed.


Emergency Preparedness Ideas

With just a little imagination you can create in expensive items to help you out when there is an emergency situation or disaster. Love these ideas, so simple. Good to make ahead of  time and keep with your emergency supplies. 

Emergency Fire Starter Petroleum Jelly Balls . . .

Watch this video on how to make and use an emergency fire starting tool you can easily make. Keep them in an old prescription medicine bottle or other small plastic container, place them in a plastic zip lock bag and keep them in your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpack.



Wheel Barrow Fire Pit . . .

 

Love this idea . . . Take a metal wheel barrow, place it in a safe place, build a fire inside the wheel barrow. You can also place a BBQ grill on top or your stove oven rack if you cannot use your conventional stove in an emergency situation. Now you have a way to boil water and cook.  

Emergency Human Powered Washing Machine . . .

Comments and Questions: Please share your comments and questions below. We all learn for each others knowledge and experiences. If you have a questions and I do not know the answer I will research it and post the answer on my next blog posting. Thank you for your comments and questions, they are most appreciated.

 

Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage and Monthly Assignments (Week of August 16th)

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

You will have to rely 
            on your own preparedness!

Have you ever thought about that statement? You will need to relying on your own preparedness and not that of others. So many think FEMA, the federal or your local government will come in right away to your rescue. That is not the case! So many think your local fire department, rescue teams, other local resources, etc. will come right away. You may be alone for hours, days, weeks! 

Why won't FEMA, the federal or your local government be there right away? We all saw on the news what happened with the Katrina and Sandy Hurricanes USA and the Joplin, Missouri Tornado USA, it took days, weeks, in some areas, for them to arrive with water, food, shelter and help. Trucks and buses loaded with supplies and to evacuate the people took days to enter the areas due to red tape and local governments allowing the federal government to help. It took the local people to help their own people until help could arrive.

Where will your local fie department, rescue teams, medical help, resources be to help you? They will either not be able to get to you due to severely damaged roads, roads that are blocked by collapsed buildings and debris, fires due to gas leaks and other issues, to many needing help too.

Why not be prepared to take care of yourself immediately? Why do so many rely on others? Why??? We are reminded over and over to have a 72 hour emergency kit in our homes, cars and at work. We are reminded to be prepared for more than just 72 hours, but for weeks, months. When a natural disaster or other emergency situation hits it can takes weeks, months to receive relief. We need to be able to take care of ourselves and our loved ones on our own. Even the scripture warn of this in 1 Timothy 5:8, "If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel". We need to be prepared individually and as a family!

How can we be prepared? By taking inventory of what we will need to survive, what we already have and what we still need. This blog will help you prepare. I am so grateful to those of you who follow this blog and other preparation blogs because I know they will be protected if they are setting goals and accomplishing them. They will not fear what may come their way. Peace comes in preparation!

If a natural disaster or other emergency situation arises will you be ready? Will you have a way to have electricity/light if the grid or your area goes down, will you have food to eat and drinking water to drink, will you have heat if the heater no longer works, will you be able to cook if you cannot use your conventional stove, what will you do if you cannot use your conventional toilet, what will you do if you need medical help, will you know what to do if you need to evacuate immediately? What will you do???

No more excuses! We each need to provide for ourselves and our family! It is no one else's responsibility, it is ours! No more procrastination! Start today to be prepared! Just add a few extra cans and packages of food to your food storage each time you go grocery shopping. Before you know it you will have 1-Month, 2-Months, 3-Months food storage. You will feel so much more at peace knowing you are prepared.

We all need to be better prepared by relying on ourselves, not others!

 

August Monthly Assignments

Food Storage: Spices and Herbs

Spices and herbs are an important part of cooking, even in a disaster or emergency situation. 

Where to purchase: I like to purchase my spices, herbs and seasonings from big box stores like Costco or Sam's Club, shops that sell India seasonings in bulk (less expensive) and long term food storage companies like emergencyessentials.com. Emergency Essentials has them in 2.5 cans and some in #10 cans. They store for 20 years. I prefer the 2.5 cans. Sprouts also sells spices and herbs in bulk. Buying in bulk is less expensive than purchasing the small bottles and containers from regular grocery stores. Watch the expiration dates at discount stores. If you purchase them from bulk item stores or an India store purchase airtight containers to transfer their packaged herbs and spices into.

How much do I need? Determine what spices, herbs and seasonings your family uses in cooking. Determine how much you will need for your food storage goals.

How to store: Like all food storage, in a cool, dry, dark place. 

Emergency Preparedness: 

      72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpacks

            (or Grab and Go Bag or Bug-Out-Bag) 

 

 
Each family member in your house hold should have a 72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpack/Kit. Click here to see what items should be in each backpack/kit. There are 3 kits within the backpack plus other items that will help with your survival---

1) Food Kit (Adjust according to each family members age and medical needs)
2) Hygiene Kit (Provides items that will help you feel better)
3) Stressor Kit (Help family members deal with the stress of a disaster or emergency situation)

Note: We also have strapped to each backpack a water filtering sports bottle from store.lds.org (Seychelle Water Filtration). If you need extra water it will filter out 99.9999% of all bacteria and contamination.

If you already have your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks . . .

Important: If you have not rotated the food for awhile, a year, or 6 months if kept in your car, this would be a good time to do so. Also, to re-evaluate the food in your kits, diets and medications change and taste change. With some medications you cannot eat grapefruit or other foods. Also, sizes change, especial for children, replace clothing and shoes as needed.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas

 Have you backed up and saved your computer files? I do not know a lot about computer but I know it is important to save and back up your files in case of a natural disaster, power grid outage, immediate evacuation and other issues that may occur. Many of you computer experts may already know how to do this.

Story--A few years ago our daughter and her family lived in Atascadero, California, USA. There was a huge fire approaching the city, they were told to evacuate, they only had 20 minutes. She called us to help with what they should take, being frantic at the time and not thinking straight. One thing we told them was to save their computer files by backing up and saving them on a disk or some other way? I told them to grab the computer tower since there was no time to back them up or make copies of their valuable files. Today we have other devices to help back up and save our files.

Click here to learn how to back up your computer files.

This one might help you save your computer files on a USB Flash Drive. Click here to see how.

Comments and Questions: Please share your comments, we love hearing from you. We all learn from each others experience and knowledge. If you have any questions you can leave them below or email me at theark.carsonward@gmail.com. Thank you for your comments.

Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage and Monthly Assignments (Week of August 9th)

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

Yep, we have hit our 5th Anniversary of "The Ark" blog!

About 5 years ago I woke up one morning and sat up in bed. The Holy Ghost told me we needed to be better prepared and I needed to warn family, friends and others to be prepared and better prepared than they were. Something big was coming that would effect many. The feeling was so strong I could not get the warning out of my head. At first I did not know how to accomplish it. I knew how to make us better prepared but how could I help others be prepared and get the word out to so many at once?

Our daughter had a scrapbooking blog and then I realized I could start an emergency preparedness blog with her help. So on August 1, 2010 I launched my first blog, "The Ark". Five years latter I am still publishing a blog posting every week  A few months later I was called as the Emergency Preparedness Specialist for my Ward, this year I was also called as my Stake Emergency Preparedness Specialist.

I hope this blog has helped my family, friends and others be prepared, how to start, encourage you and make it simple and easy. So many emergency preparedness books and websites are very complicated and so overwhelming. You stop before you really get started. This blog has been here to inspire you, encourage you and show each one of you you can do it a step at a time. 

Please take advantage of this blog and I hope it is helping you be better prepared for what ever may come your way. Remember, anything can happen in just a second. If you are a least striving to be prepared, I assure you Heavenly Father will bless you.

Striving . . .

The dictionary meaning for "striving" is "make great efforts to achieve or obtain something".

How many of us strive for something that is of great importance to us, providing for our family, a good job, a good education. good health, a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Being prepared both spiritually and temporally is an important part of it too.

Being spiritually and temporally prepared takes setting goals and work. It does not happen over night. It is a continual life long process. As long as we are striving by setting goals and working towards those goals we will be blessed. This life is about being obedient to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our church leaders have warned us to be prepared for many many years. We have been working on our family preparedness for 44 years. We are continually adding and rotating our food storage and emergency supplies. Do not give up. No one fails if they continue to try! Peace comes from preparation.

Satan tries very hard to discourage and distract us from reaching our potential and goals. Write them down, keep them were you can see them daily, review them daily and accomplish at least one a day or a week. Longer term goals work towards accomplishing one a month, like purchasing a family tent or emergency cooking equipment and fuel. You can do it!!!

New August Monthly Assignments

Food Storage: Spices and Herbs

Spices and herbs are an important part of cooking, even in a disaster or emergency situation. 

Where to purchase: I like to purchase my spices, herbs and seasonings from big box stores like Costco or Sam's Club, shops that sell India seasonings in bulk (less expensive) and long term food storage companies like emergencyessentials.com. Emergency Essentials has them in 2.5 cans and some in #10 cans. They store for 20 years. I prefer the 2.5 cans. Sprouts also sells spices and herbs in bulk. Buying in bulk is less expensive than purchasing the small bottles and containers from regular grocery stores. Watch the expiration dates at discount stores. If you purchase them from bulk item stores or an India store purchase airtight containers to transfer their packaged herbs and spices into.

How much do I need? Determine what spices, herbs and seasonngs your family uses in cooking. Determine how much you will need for your food storage goals.

How to store: Like all food storage, in a cool, dry, dark place. 

Emergency Preparedness: 

      72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpacks

            (or Grab and Go Bag or Bug-Out-Bag) 

 

 
Each family member in your house hold should have a 72 Hour Individual Emergency Backpack/Kit. Click here to see what items should be in each backpack/kit. There are 3 kits within the backpack plus other items that will help with your survival---

1) Food Kit (Adjust according to each family members age and medical needs)
2) Hygiene Kit (Provides items that will help you feel better)
3) Stressor Kit (Help family members deal with the stress of a disaster or emergency situation)

Note: We also have strapped to each backpack a water filtering sports bottle from store.lds.org (Seychelle Water Filtration). If you need extra water it will filter out 99.9999% of all bacteria and contamination.

If you already have your 72 Hour Individual Emergency Preparedness Backpacks . . .

Important: If you have not rotated the food for awhile, a year, or 6 months if kept in your car, this would be a good time to do so. Also, to re-evaluate the food in your kits, diets and medications change and taste change. With some medications you cannot eat grapefruit or other foods. Also, sizes change, especial for children, replace clothing and shoes as needed. 

New Posting Under "Postings" . . . 

Sanitation--Emergency Portable Toilet Supplies and Instructions

Emergency Preparedness Ideas

Just Add Water: Freeze-dried vs Dehydrated Food . . .

emergencyessentials.com has a great blog posting on this subject. Click here to read the article.

Vegetable Gardening . . .

Now that our Summer vegetable gardens are coming to an end it is time to think about planting your Fall vegetable gardens. So far I have harvested from my Summer garden tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, green onions. zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers. The Fall vegetable garden consist of the cooler vegetables like leaf lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, etc. It needs to be planted between August and September. For my Fall vegetable garden I am planning on planting more tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots and my bell peppers are still producing. I just planted seeds for broccoli and celery in small containers to germinate. It is best to plant them as small plants in your vegetable garden. I will also plant peas, leaf lettuce and  possibly some cilantro. Living in Southern California USA gives us a long growing season that most areas of the United States and world.

Click here to read a great article about Fall Gardening.

Comments and Questions:  We love hearing from you. Your comments and questions help us all learn from each other. If you have a question you can post it below or email me at theark.carsonward@gmail.com. I will research your question and post the answer next week. Thank you for your comments and questions.

Sanitation--Emergency Portable Toilet Supplies and Instructions

What will you do during an emergency situation or disaster and you cannot use your conventional toilet and use the water to flush the toilet? I know this is icky thought, but one that needs addresses and prepared for.

Every house hold should have an emergency toilet. Here are the supplies you will need and instruction on how to use one . . .

What you will need to purchase (The supplies will be determined by the number in your family):

1) An emergency toilet (emergencyessentials.com has a great price for these, $15.96 which includes 2 Enzymes packs.)
2) Heavy large plastic trash bags (You will need several of these, enough to last for 3-6 months. Best price for a large box is Costco or Sam's Club)
3) Cat Liter (You will need several large bags, enough to last for 3-5 months)
4) Enzymes or Rid-X Septic Tank System Treatment (This breaks down the waste in your emergency portable toilet. You can purchase the Enzymes from emergencyessentials.com for 60 cents a packet or the Rid-X. WalMart offers the Rid-X for about $14.00.
5) Ex-large plastic tarp, nails, rope, hammer (To put up for privacy if outside)

Instructions how to use:

1. If outside, construct a privacy screen with the ex-large plastic tarp, nails and rope.
2. If inside you can use the conventional toilet in the same way you use the portable one, just do not flush due to no water.
3. Line the portable toilet, or your conventional toilet, with the heavy black plastic trash bag, leaving enough hanging over the sides to tie.
4. Place about 3 inches of cat liter on the bottom.
5. Securely place the lid on top of the bucket. When not in use keep the lid closed to cut down on flies and insects.
6. Each time someone has a bowel movement sprinkle Enzymes or the Rid-X over it. Then add a little more cat liter. The Enzymes and Rid-X help break down the human waist so you can bury it in the trash bag. It is against the law to bury human waist in California due to disease. In an emergency situation you really have no choice but to bury it, but bury it in the heavy black plastic trash bag.
7. Do not let the trash bag get to full, it will be heavy and hard to remove without ripping the trash bag.
8. Once full enough, tie and bury the trash bag.
9. Continue the process until you no longer need to use the portable toilet or your conventional toilet in this manner.

Note: This is also great for camping if there are not bathroom facilities.