Emergency Prep Tips

Let's talk about some simple things that we can realistically do to make our homes more ready in case of an emergency.

-Have a PLAN!! There are lots of different situations to think about, but if you have a basic idea of what you will do, life will be that much easier. We have a plan on where to meet if there's a fire at your home. Our kids know that they need to run to one specific neighbor's house. That's part of our plan. If my husband is at work and can't be home, we have a meeting place planned. You might also want to talk to your child's school and ask them their emergency procedures. If there is a need to evacuate town, we will drive to my grandma's an hour south.

Your plan can be as simple as that.

-Have a portable 72-hour kit. Click on the links on the RIGHT of the page for more information.

-Know how to shut off your utilities. You need to know how to shut off your water, even in non-emergency situations.

I believe in most cases that the gas company will shut that off if their is a natural disaster, but you may want to call and find out for sure.

We live near an Interstate and if their was a chemical spill from a wrecked semi-truck, there may be a need to shut off items in your home that may caught fire like your water heater or furnace.

-Protect important documents. This could be as simple as using a fire-proof safe, or having an easy to grab Emergency Binder. You may want to make copies and give them to a relative in the event the originals are destroyed.

-Have a "Car kit." I don't have an actually kit in my car, but there are several items throughout my car that will be of use in an emergency. These items may include the following: Blankets, flashlights and batteries, high-energy foods like protein bars, extra clothing, jumper cables, first aid kit, water, small shovel, extra diapers and wipes, etc.

I have used all of these items, except the shovel, in my every day situations as well, so it's good to be prepared for whatever...not only disasters.

-30-day supply of medications. We've talked about 72-hour supply of medication, but depending on the severity of your medical situation, you may want to have a month's worth in your home. You most likely will have to get permission from your doctor and/or insurance company to do this.

-Know how to provide your own lighting, heating and cooking if the power goes out. In most natural disasters, the power is the first thing that goes. I also believe that it is one of the first things to get back into operation, but you may have a few days (or more) at home when you will need to do without. Flashlights are best for light. If you use candles or lanterns, remember to have adequate ventilation. If you have a grill, you can have extra propane or charcoal on hand.

-In conjunction with that, you might want to have a fire extinguisher on hand. I finally went to the store to look at one last summer, and the small ones they make for cars are about $12. Not bad.

-Lastly...my favorite...ALWAYS have at least HALF of a tank of gas in your vehicle!!! With gas prices, if feels better to get a little bit at a time...at least I think so. Also, if I have more than half a tank, I can get to my grandma's house or possibly my parents' house without stopping for gas. You may also want to always have gas in a gas can as well.

Home organization

There are probably a million websites about tips for becoming organized and nearly as many products you could buy to "help" you in your search for organization. Personally, I have found that I need to do what works for me. This means that in some things I am pretty organized and other things I have to let go. It can be hard for some of us who are a little too controling...but let's help each other.

Here are some things that work for me:

1. Declutter. Get rid of the unnecessary.

You don't have to keep every drawing your child draws or every outfit they outgrow. On the other hand, I do not believe in being wasteful. If you have some good quality items that you haven't used for 6 months or longer, give it to your local charity or women's shelter.

I like to organize one room or closet at a time, usually every other week so I don't get overwhelmed.

Another item that can cause clutter is magazines! Tear out what you want and get rid of the rest.

2. Establish a routine. Daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

3. Use a filing system. Even if it's a box somewhere, you need so place to file important papers. Check out my post on the Emergency Binder.

4. Get your family involved. This may include job charts, or just asking for help when you need it.

5. Use technology- for budgeting, paying bills, communicating, etc.

6. Meal plan. Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Whatever you can do will help your sanity. I promise!



Remember, one thing at a time. You can do it!

72-hour kit: Medication

Medicine is an important part of any emergency kit. Storing over-the-counter medications like Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen may be useful if you are away from home or if you are unable to go to a store for a period of time. If you have children at home, you should store appropiate medicine for them as well.

I store a bottle of each medicine in my kit. When I run out of one in my medicine cupboard, I get the bottle out of my kit. Then I buy a new one for the 72-hour kit. It has been helpful to have these extra medicines handy when I am unexpectedly run out and one of my kids is sick.

If you or a family member has a specific medical need that makes it necessary to take medication regularly, this medication is extremely important to have an emergency. My husband takes medicine weekly, along with daily vitamins. I store at least 3 days worth of the needed medication, one week's worth for the weekly meds. You may need to have a plan for medications that need to be refrigerated, if needed.

I use an old medicine bottle with a child-proof lid for the pills we need to keep my kids safe. I also have a card with each medicine and vitamin labeled.

I place the medicine in a small plastic bag, wrap it with packing tape, and label it with the date so I know when I need to rotate it.

This medication has also come in handy when we have had miscommunication between the doctor's office and the pharmacy.


This is step 4 on the PLAN 9 pamphlet put together by the Southwest Utah Public Health Department.

Previous Steps...
Step 3: Clothing
Step 2: Food
Step 1: Water

3-month supply: Milk

Powdered milk is probably not the first thing you think of when you need a refreshing drink. In fact, if you've used it at all, you know that is doesn't really smell fabulous. BUT, in times of emergency, ESPECIALLY with children in the house, you need the protein and calcium provided in milk. So...

Let's talk about our 3-month supply of MILK!!!

Amount to store per person: 16 lbs.

Remember, you can use THIS great excel spreadsheet to figure your family's food storage needs, THIS food storage calculator, OR just estimate how much your family really uses in a given period of time. The first worksheet says 4 lbs per person, but I think it's a typo because then is says that you need 4 cans of 4 lbs each. Just FYI.

So here are some different milk products you can store:

Powdered milk, which includes Instant Nonfat and Regular.
Evaporated milk
Sweetened Condensed milk

Instant Nonfat powdered milk is a little bit smoother in texture because it has a little more air in it for easy mixing. Regular powdered milk, or non-instant is denser and can be harder to mix but is usually less expensive and more can fit into a can. Canned milk has at least a 5 year shelf life, although I bought a few cans a while back that are good for 30 years.

I have been using powdered milk for a while now, but only in my cooking. Simply stir 1/4 cup of powdered milk and 1 cup of water and you have a cup of milk for any recipe. (My husband has a "refined sense of taste" and he's never noticed when I use it.) This is not only a good way to get used to using powdered milk, it also helps me to rotate my food storage AND it's cheaper than fluid milk so using it saves me money.

Where to find powdered milk?

Powdered milk is available in a box at any grocery store, but this will not store long. For longer term storage, you want to purchase powdered milk in #10 cans. Some stores in Utah carry these, but here are some links for other options:

Self-Reliance
Augason Farms
Emergency Essentials
LDS Cannery- definitely the cheapest option, but you have to have access to a cannery.

Evaporated Milk is shelf-stable canned milk. This product is made by removing 60% of the water from fresh milk. It takes up half the space as fresh milk with the same nutrients. When mixed with the right amount of water, it becomes more like fresh milk.

Evaporated milk is often used in baking and cooking, but can be a great item to store. It have about a 15 month shelf-life, but comes in small cans that make rotating easy.

Sweetened condensed milk is also fresh milk with water removed from it, but has sugar added to it as well. Because of this, the shelf life is extended. This product is most commonly used in desserts.


Stock-up prices (lowest to highest):

Evaporated milk: $.05 per oz
Sweetened Condensed milk: $.10 per oz
Regular powdered milk: $2.10 per lb ($.13/oz)
Instant nonfat: $4.14 per lb ($.26/oz)


Check out Every Day Food Storage's post about powdered milk.

Emergency Binder

(Beautiful, right? It looks like a Trapper Keeper.)

So a year or two ago I started following the website, Food Storage Made Easy. It's a fun site with some great tips on getting your food storage and emergency preparedness stuff going. My favorite thing I've learned from that website is the Emergency Binder. I used their list as a guideline and went from there.

Here's their list:
-Birth certificates
-Passports
-SS Cards
-Copies of credit cards, front and back
-Homeowners insurance policy
-Auto insurance policy
-Life insurance policy
-Retirement statements
-Internet passwords
-Immunization records
-Utility statements
-Work/tax documents that would be difficult to replace
-Cash, keep a variety of small bills on hand

So here's what I have:
-Contact info. I have our parents, local family, friends, emergency numbers, doctor's numbers and where we would meet in case of emergency, like a church or school.
-Account info. Anything with an account number basically. I have our account numbers, phone numbers and addresses of the company. This includes utilities (so I don't have to keep a statement in the binder) credit cards, student loans, whatever. It's basically a brief summary of all accounts and important numbers.
-Internet passwords. I know, it's a little scary in a way, but you have to have them somewhere. If I died, my husband would have no clue about half our bills, so at least he'd have all the passwords so he could see what's up. :)
-Important certificates. Birth, marriage, car title, social security cards, immunization cards, etc. I even have my old passport and my vision rx as shown below. (Don't worry. I blurred out some of the info.)
Each member of the family has their own sheet protector, so when I went to Kindergarten registration I only had to grab the sheet protector and everything the school needed was there. Easy.
-Insurance stuff. I have the declaration page for our homeowners insurance, our auto insurance and our extra medical insurance cards.
-Taxes. I keep the last two years worth of tax stuff. The W2s are in sheet protectors. Last year itemizing actually helped, so this year I am also keeping receipts and note to remind me of our deductions so I'm not scrambling at tax time. It's also good to have an extra copy of your return. Oh, I have our property tax stuff in there too.
-Loans. Curse them. I have the statements and any important notices from our student loans including notes from conversations with people so I know what I'm talking about next time.
-401K and stocks. Yes, we have both, although they are sad. We put a tiny bit in a 401K through my husband's work so we have that quarterly statement. I also keep our stock statement. Just so you know, we put a little bit in RIGHT before everything went crazy so we currently have $3.38. Be jealous.
-Mortgage statements and any other info from our lender. Behind these I have our Title insurance.
-Paystubs. My husband's are online now, but I make a tiny bit from coordinating the daycare at a local gym so my last few paystubs are in a sheet protector. I should probably print out a few of Silas's, just in case.
-Random stuff: purchase agreement from our car including warranty information, warranty info on our washer and dryer (which I just purchased and it made me feel like a big girl. I usually hate spending money on warranties, but our machines getting older and I use them CONSTANTLY), print out from our credit reports, and stuff about our alarm system (that's a long story).
-Cash. Honestly, I think this is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT part of the binder, but I don't normally have more than a few dollars. I need to work on that. What if no ATMs or card readers were working? People probably won't take a check if that was the case, so cash is important.
Oh and I got a pretty purple binder so it would be easy to grab if we were panicing. And no, I don't have it sitting out for all to see. Don't worry.

Don't get overwhelmed. Just do one thing at a time. You will feel so good when it's done.

NEXT POST: 3-month supply: Milk

Meal planning

For a few years now, I have been planning our family meals. For a while I was planning for every two weeks, but now I plan a whole month at a time and shop for 2 weeks at a time. It has taken a long time for me to get comfortable with it, but here are some things I've learned.

-Have a list of meals your family likes. (Don't feel bad if ramen noodles or Hamburger Helper is on your list)

Click HERE for a blank worksheet created by Prepared LDS Family.

-Space out similar meals. For example, you may not want to have spaghetti and lasagna in the same week. This is on reason I prefer planning for the whole month. I would make breakfast food every other day if I could but my husband doesn't love that, so I plan on one breakfast food meal a week.

-Plan for a leftover night. We usually have one day a week when we need to clean out the fridge. It doesn't always fall on the same day every week, so I have to be flexible, but you have to LOVE leftover night.

-Plan for new recipes! To shake things up a little, plan a new recipe once a week or once every other week. This can help you find new favorites for your meal list. (Remember to use recipes that include your food storage, so you can learn HOW to use ingredients you may not be used to and so that your food gets rotated.

-Use a blank calendar and/or make a list of all the meals. I was reminded of this the other day. When I had one of my kids, my mother-in-law came for a few weeks and before I had my baby I made this list so she could pick something and cook. She was recently visiting and mentioned that. Since then, I have tried it for myself. I like it.

I am currently using this list and marking on a calendar I printed from Word want we ate that day. I have a binder with my calendars so I can look through it quickly to remind of things I made last month or things we haven't eaten in a while.

Meal planning helps me to feel a little more in control of my day, helps with my general sanity, and saves me money because I'm not going to the store every other day for things I need.


Remember, this month count and try to add to your SUGAR supply and CLOTHING for your 72-hour kits.

72-hour kit: Clothing

As far as clothing goes this is what I recommend for EACH family member:

1 shirt
1 pair of jeans (I use old, holey ones)
1 pair socks
1 pair of underwear (or 12-16 diapers for baby...and don't forget wipes!)
1 sweater
1 pair shoes

You can get clothing from your local thrift store. I save ALL my boys' clothes, so most of the stuff is used from their older brother. For my daughter, I have some pajamas that are the size bigger than she is currently in.

In the image above, I had all the clothing in a large, rolling suitcase. Since I took that photo, I have made separate kits for each member of the family. Do what works for you.

I also have a set of clothing in the car for each of my children, as well as a bunch of diapers and wipes. There have been MANY times that I have needed a new pair of underwear and pants for one of my kids who got in mud or had an accident while at a friend's house or even out doing errands.


While you're thinking of clothing for you 72-hour kits, you may want to consider the following items as well:

Ponchos
Blankets
Work gloves
Hats

This is Step 3 on the PLAN 9 pamphlet put together by the Southwest Utah Public Health Department.

Previous Steps...
Step 2: Food
Step 1: Water