Emergency Planning

A rolling bag kept packed and ready to go.

This is a closet that we have reinforced and it sits in the center of house. We keep emergency supplies as well as a very small bench for sitting during a severe storm.
I am simply stunned when we have disasters and so many people have no emergency supplies. I understand when there is a sudden disaster, something with no warning and everything we have is taken away including emergency supplies. BUT, many times there are those that did not have any damage or only minimal damage and they are in lines waiting for food, water and whatever they need because they did not prepare and cannot manage even a power outage. These people that do not prepare for a disaster and then go out for help are taking precious resources from those that truly need it.

Things are going to get a bit uncomfortable when an outage occurs but we can prepare so that we can be as comfortable as possible if something bad happens. It is up to me to know how to do things and have the things I need if there is no power or I have to be in some kind of shelter.

In the top of this emergency closet we keep grab and go large back packs. In the center of these two backpacks is a tackle box filled with batteries.

In the top of our closet we have pop out dog kennels. They are lightweight and easy to carry.
If a disaster happens then what are we going to eat? How are we going to wash and dry our clothes? How are we going to cook food? How are we going to take care of our child or children? How are we going to stay cool or warm? Where are we going to stay if we lose your home? What about our pets? How are we going to sleep? What about medication?

This is a handcrank radio with emergency flashers and a sirene that we keep in our reinforced closet.

We keep the dogs leashes and harnesses in the closet. It is centrally located for easy access to use in a rush.

We have several battery operated fans stored. We purchased them one at a time over several years as we did many of our supplies. You have to start somewhere.

We keep a pair of shoes and socks, a hammer and other things in a shoe bag in this closet. If you notice in a lot of disasters people are barefoot.

The closet has double thick plywood and a bench with cubbies under the bench for our two dogs. We keep a blanket to throw around us. This shelter is not regulation but it is better than nothing.

We store bottled water in another location but we keep one in our shelter.

Our first aid kit contains many different items for different types of emergencies.

This is actually a fishing tackle box. The top of it has small compartments that we keep small items such as bandaids.

You can purchase these tick removers online. They really do work as we have used them before. I was walking in the woods at my Sons house and noticed a tick that evening on the back of my arm. It is like a small spoon with a small slot in the end of the spoon.

Masks, burn gel, cpr mask, scissors, Betadine, bandages, Ibuprofen, eye wash, sling and more.

Don't forget an extra flashligh and batteries in your first aid kit.

I hung this up for you to see, this is an old fashion baby diaper. You can buy these by the dozen in department stores.
If you have a baby, you need the old fashioned cloth diapers packed in a five gallon bucket with diaper pins, rubber pants and another 5 gallon bucket with soap, bleach, clothesline and clothes pins. The two buckets can be used to wash and rinse the diapers. The reason for the old fashioned diapers (not the new type of cloth diaper), is because they dry quicker on a line. Old fashioned diapers open up to a large bar cloth size and you hand folded the diaper for the size of your baby. I used the same diapers the entire time my babies were in diapers.

Basically we learn how to live like people did before electricity in a minimal way. We can live without electricity and people still do live without electricity all over the world but we do need basic proper tools.

These are some of the other things that I keep on hand. This is a large bar of laundry soap. You can order this online and some grocery stores still carry this soap. I keep several blocks of this soap on hand.

This is another laundry bar that comes from Japan. It is called Shabondama Laundry Bar. I ordered quite a bit of this laundry but it is getting more difficult to find.

This is Dr. Bronner's bar soap and can be used for most anything.

This is the back of Dr. Bronner's soap and it says All-One which to me means a all in one soap. I have used it to bathe, wash dishes, wash clothes and clean most anything.

This is another soap called J.R. Liggett's shampoo bar. We use it for shampoo but I also use it for camping, washing dishes and wash out your clothes etc. It is another good soap but it is a small bar and uses up quickly so it is best for shampoo. This one has been used so it comes just a bit larger than you see here. It smells very clean and gets your hair squeaky clean.

I mostly use pure soaps with few ingredients but for these emergency reasons I keep other soaps. this is dial anitbacterial soap. I recently had surgery and my doctor insisted that I use this soap for my surgery site. So I purchased extra in case of an emergency for wound cleaning.

A few good books could be tucked away in a grab and go pack.

I keep several types of non electric lighting in our home. These typical oil lanterns, also an olive oil lamp, candles only for if everything else runs out. I feel that candles are dangerous. Also I want to say, after an emergency to NEVER LIGHT ANYTHING UNTIL YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE NO GAS LEAKS!

This 16 ounce bottle of water will cook a pot of rice. One bottle of water and one cup of rice for 20 minutes.

How will you cook that rice? We have a fire pit to use, we also have a gas two burner stove and more options.

These are our hobo stoves. You can look them up on the internet and there are many different types. These are simply different size cans from canned goods.

This large can came from a very large green bean can.

This hole we cut out and this is where you feed the sticks into the can. First you put paper in the bottom of the can and then sticks. Then put the grill on top etc. As the fire burns you add sticks through this hole. It will boil water and cook food.

This is a small can. You just sit your small pot on top and feed the hole with sticks. The larger can works better but this will work if you have nothing else.

This is the small can and you use a can opener and puch holes around the bottom for air to get through.

For the larger can you punch holes all the way around. We got these cans from a friend that works at a store that also sells food to eat, like a deli. They use large cans of green beans and he saved me some cans.

This picture shows the two rods that go through the can to hold the grill in place.

Then if you are really fortunate there is the big green egg. It will bake bread, grill or bake anything.

I am always on the look out for lanterns. I found two of these at a yard sale for .50 cents. I have one hanging in the hallway and.....

one in the bathroom. They use tea lights and really come in handy during a simple power outage.

We keep a stored food supply as our generations before us did in their time. I keep basic foods on hand that can be cooked.

I do not go out and buy ready to eat meals and junk foods before a storm or hurricane because we are prepared to cook our food. Keep in mind to store your food and supplies in the safest location that you can.

We also need our medications and important papers stored in something that is ready to grab and go.
We have a luggage bag just for our pet supplies. It is sitting partially filled with extra bowls a couple of blankets, water and the food is located where we can just grab the food and toss it into the rolling bag.
I try and keep bags with wheels to make it easier to get into the car.

When my Mother was still living I kept her a bag packed with extra clothing and things to make her comfortable. We had a cot with extra padding and adult diapers and things she would need. People with special needs should be at the top of the list for preparedness.

Anyone with food allergies should have a grab and go bag filled with food they can eat because most disaster foods are processed foods.

Sometimes even the most prepared will have their supplies wiped away during a horrible disaster and those are the the people that truly need help.

Please prepare for a disaster for you and your family so you will not be using up goods that are meant for those that lost everything.

Many of the pages on this website will address how to wash clothes by hand and many other things to do the old fashioned way as this is how you will need to do things after an emergency.

May God Bless You and keep you safe, Grandma Donna