What are you doing for preparedness?

[JoyGal]

After the threads on ways that we need/should/could/would like to prepare for our homes and families, I think it would be neat to see how everyone is doing.

By 'preparedness' I mean anything from emergency preparation to bulk food storage to learning new skills to gardening or absolutely whatever you would like to contribute.

I know a few mama's have started storing foods, have you received your containers or bulk foods yet? How is it going?
There was another mama who was going to look more into solar ovens, has there been anything interesting yet?

[mummy2boys]

subbing to come back to later



There was another mama who was going to look more into solar ovens, has there been anything interesting yet?


It wasn't me but I am acutally looking into them myself

[Blue Savannah]

:cup

[ArmsOfLove]

If anyone is interesting in what FEMA says about getting ready here is a link to their manual for emergency preparation
http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/

I've managed to get about 3-9 months worth of foods stored up and am slowly but surely buying extras of this or that. I'm really appreciating my Food Saver. I think my next goal is to get another 25 pounds of sugar and buy 25 or 50 pounds of various dried beans and lentils.

dh has learned how to make solar panels and solar ovens but is focusing on finishing the house repairs so if we need to sell it this year we can first

and he is going to turn the backyard into a garden very soon

[JoyGal]

Mummy2boys, I'm interested in what you learn about the solar ovens too.

Crystal, that's a great start! I miss my Food Saver so much (it's still in storage in Idaho and does me no good over here!)

I have not done as much as I've intended so far, but my goals have tentative time frames ;) I have started to research some on heirloom seeds and am deciding on what I want to try growing in pots this summer. I figure before I invest in growing an entire garden, I'd like to find I can grow the best. I do know I'm going to start with some tomatos, green beans and herbs.

[Can'tTurnLeft]

Well we do use a solar oven in the summertime :) but I haven't mastered it yet LOL

We have probably about a three month supply of food, but I'm working on making that bigger. I can much of my own food, and have about three years worth of lids since you can only use those once. We are planting a garden this year, but it wont' be very big because it is the first year in a new house in a new climate that I have to get used to. I buy fruits and veggies in bulk and freeze and can most of them.

Also we store wheat, lots of wheat and other whole grains as well to grind and bake as needed.

We are toying with chickens this summer, and we'll see if that happens or not. I've got a local source for eggs and honey, as well as a pretty large honey stash.

I am terrified of not having enough deodorant and toothpaste if there is a time of trouble, so I've got about a six year supply of both.... :shifty probably my most neurotic tendency with those things LOL

[rstump]

I am working on 72 hour kits (backpacks) for everyone and starting to add more to my pantry with a plan. I have always purchased in bulk but at random...not a real plan for 3-6 months worth of food.

One question I had for everyone....are you planning for your longterm food to be food you can cook without a oven...ie...no baking only stove top/grill/fire type foods.

I am confued about having lots of grains/flour for bread baking. I know you can also use a solar oven...but I haven't gotten there yet.

I just keep thinking...if we are having that large of a problem...hurricane, war, etc.....most likely we wouldn't have electricity. Or am I missing something?

[rstump]

Oh...and has anyone made meal plans?

Like a food plan for your 72 hour kit

or a meal plan for 2 weeks for your food to use without power or perishables?

[Lady TS]

:cup

The furthest I have gotten really, is starting the garden plan in my head.

I keep trying to get ahead on groceries, but probably have only *maybe* a month's supply on hand, if that. And that's assuming I could eat what everyone else is eating(which I shouldn't, yet).

So, :cup

[JoyGal]

Oh...and has anyone made meal plans?

Like a food plan for your 72 hour kit

or a meal plan for 2 weeks for your food to use without power or perishables?


This was my January goal. I had intended on making a two week emergency plan, a month menu and then tackle a year menu.

As for the 72 hour kits, I want to have the contents of each family members kit written down then just make sure I have the items needed for them in the house (without actually having them in a small bag.)


One question I had for everyone....are you planning for your longterm food to be food you can cook without a oven...ie...no baking only stove top/grill/fire type foods.

I just keep thinking...if we are having that large of a problem...hurricane, war, etc.....most likely we wouldn't have electricity. Or am I missing something?


This is my thought to, and for the 72 hour kits we'll have easy foods (pre-made pre-packaged stuff.) For anything longer than that, I'm going to have to delve into that more. I know of one source to find out how to make anything on the stove/camp stove/camp fire, I just have to muster up the ability to contact.

Speaking of meal planning though, does anyone know of a good online blan calendar I can download?

[Herbwifemama]

Ok, I started by buying foods that all you needed to add was water, and could be cooked over an open fire. I bought a lot of these boxed meals: http://lrdinc.com/images/HB-Lineup-v3.jpg
And some rice and potatoes that you just have to add water to and cook. And some gravy, biscuit mixes. And some canned soups that all you need is to warm them, but they don't HAVE to be warmed.

I bought 4 7-gallon water containers, and made space in a closet for them. I plan on buying several more.

I just ordered a grain mill, and am planning on ordering a superpail of wheat soon. I've got to clean out a LOT more space for all these buckets of grain and beans I'm going to have...

I'm the one looking into solar cooking. I found a pattern for a simple solar oven, and I also learned that GraniteWare is the best thing to cook in. So, I'm looking for a dutch oven and a small roasting pan made of GraniteWare, and that shouldn't be too hard to find. (as long as it's black)

These are the two plans for solar ovens that I'm going to try first:
http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/windshield-cooker.htm

and

the first one on this page: http://www.solarcooking.org/plans/

If I can't find a piece of cardboard big enough, I'm just going to order one.

I'm making plans for a 72 hour kit, and for a winter car kit. I found plans for a coffee can car heater: http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/how-to-make-a-survival-heater-for-your-car/

And I also am following along with this site:
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ I signed up for their email "babysteps", and I've gotten the first one, and they say by the end of the year you should have enough food storage for one year.

We're having a family meeting tonight where we discuss emergency plans, and decide on family meeting locations and family contacts, and we're also going to start a family virtues study, which isn't related to preparedness, but I thought I'd mention it cause I"m excited. :)

Oh, I also canned a gallon of water, and several jars of applesauce.

[rstump]

How do you "can" water? Sounds interesting to me.

I would love to see other's 72 hour lists and/or meal plans.

[Herbwifemama]

Just the way you can anything- It's the first thing I ever canned. :giggle I put water into sterilized jars, and processed them according to the recommendations. I've read that this keeps the water sterile for a long time, and I've also read that it's an extra step since water should be ok without doing it, if you want to just put it in jars. And it's not practical to have more than a couple days worth, but I figured it would come in handy if there was another water main break around here. Usually they warn you before they turn off the water, but recently, they didn't, and I was kicking myself for not having my water ready yet. :doh

[Garland]

We are preparing to grow food in the garden this year. We were looking into buying a local 1-acre farm (not to live on, but just to grow food there), but we decided against it because it is in a flood zone (see the pictures of the recent flood on my blog if you'd like). So instead, we are going to take out a section of the grass in our backyard, remove some big bushes and unwanted rosebushes to make more gardening places in our yard. I've been planning what foods I'd like to grow and have been ordering organic seeds online (and some of them are heirloom ones!). I ordered some books from the library too about kitchen gardening, lasagna gardening, and comlimentary plant pairing. I'm hoping to grow a good amount of veggies and fruit for us to eat this summer, to have some extra to freeze, and to let some plants go to seed so I'll have more seeds for next year.

We're also working on paying down debt and then will start adding to our emergency fund.

That's all I've done so far. I need to start buying more things for our emergency kit and slowly build up a stash of extra bulk food items.

[JoyGal]

And I also am following along with this site:
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ I signed up for their email "babysteps", and I've gotten the first one, and they say by the end of the year you should have enough food storage for one year.

We're having a family meeting tonight where we discuss emergency plans, and decide on family meeting locations and family contacts, and we're also going to start a family virtues study, which isn't related to preparedness, but I thought I'd mention it cause I"m excited. :)



That website rocks :rockon It is so perfect for what I've been looking for! Thanks for posting that.

You are so inspirational, completely on top of this subject! Great idea for the family meeting tonight, I think I'm going to do the same this weekend.

MommaCat, your gardening ideas sound wonderful. The books you picked out from the library sound perfect because then you can incorporate all of those ideas together and get a really strong and fruitful garden.

[Herbwifemama]

MommaCat, see if your library has Food Not Lawns. I think that is one of the BEST books about converting your standard lawn (and even smallish ones) into food growing space. I love that book.

[Garland]

MommaCat, see if your library has Food Not Lawns. I think that is one of the BEST books about converting your standard lawn (and even smallish ones) into food growing space. I love that book.


I hadn't heard of that one before. I put a hold on it online through my library. I'm third in line though, so it will be a while before I get it. Thanks for the suggestion. :tu

[JoyGal]

I have to share this food calculator link, it is amazing!!

http://www.shelfreliance.com/planners/thrive

It gives how much of what you need for how ever long you want. Of course there are some changes each family can make to make it specific to your own needs, and you can purchase what you want elsewhere, but it gives such a great basis for starting out with.

Now just to figure on recipes to go with it all...

There is also a calculator on there to make emergency kits for different types of budgets.

And I have to say that the foodstoragemadness link is so great. It has links to a couple other sites that these moms are working with and has been so inspirational in getting going!

[rstump]

I have to share this food calculator link, it is amazing!!

http://www.shelfreliance.com/planners/thrive


I can't get the link to work. :)

[JoyGal]

The homepage is http://www.shelfreliance.com/ then click on Food Storage, Calculate, then the rest will walk you through. HTH!!

[StrangeTraveller]

I am gonna spemd the spring and summer in my new house plotting a front lawn garden a la http://www.garden.org/ediblelandscaping/?page=veg-garden-design

I'm also looking into solar options and wll start stocking up on bulk items. We have a woodburning fireplace, so we'll prolly get wood, too.

[PurpleButterfly]

:popcorn

[Garland]

I ordered one of these Emergency Food Kits from Costco.com today. I am planning on purchasing some bulk food each month and slowly build up our food storage supply. This one seemed like a good deal, and the reviewers said the food actually tastes pretty good:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11219554&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US&s=1

[ArmsOfLove]

someone asked about breads/electricity . . . we do intend to make a solar oven, but even with stovetop cooking you can do flat breads :yes I don't plan on storing yeast because I'm trying to plan practical living and if we can't do yeast we do flatbreads--there's a reason that's what they ate for a very long time ;) Plus I kind of like the spiritual significance of being yeast free during difficult times :amen

I have been praying and thinking about where I can store food and realized this weekend I can clear out the benches at our table and put some things in the garage in different storage so that I can keep food in the house during the summer. I'm going to clean out some of the storage under my bed as well. And this way the food will be inside things that could be used to transport it as well.

[Herbwifemama]

Crystal, are you still planning to live in a tipi? How will you store food in that?

[ArmsOfLove]

we are still looking at that. We found two cheaper ways to get even larger housing that we're exploring. One is military tents (40ftX40ft) and the other is building our own and since one of the women going with us used to travel with the circus she knows how to make it and we're trying to figure out where we cross the cheaper/cheaper line (iow, cost low/quality not too low ;) ).

but either way we will have an area in the tent or a separate tent for storage :yes

[Herbwifemama]

Depending on how permanent your tipi situation is, you could still root cellar. :think

[JoyGal]

Finally got the lists ready for our 72 Hour Kits. I still have to put some things together, but they are started and hopefully I can finish up the 'ingredients' soon :)

Here's our list:

Food:
3 Bars (1 each nutri-grain, granola and power)
3 applesauces
3 tuna pouches
3 peanut butter and cracker packets
1 corn can
1 green beans can
1 stew (pop-top)
1 chili (pop-top)
1 ravioli (pop-top)
3+ beef jerkey sticks
3 fruit roll-ups
3 cookie/chocolate bars
3 individual mayo packets
3 individual relish packets
3 sugar packets
3 tea bags (favorite flavors for each person)
3 EmergenC packets (newly added to list, idea from Purstrength)
3 milks (in individual serving sizes) (mine are juice packs since I don't drink milk)
1 plastic cup
3 plastic spork/napkin packets
1 can opener
1 pack wash-ups
1 laminated meal plan (if separated for some reason, then stress won't have to be used to decide which food to eat when)

Non-food:
1 laminated emergency card with individual picture and family picture (taped to inside of bag)
1 laminated game idea card
1 laminated scripture card
1 mini hand sanitizer
1 toothbrush and mini paste
1 mini deo
1 mini shampoo
1 chapstick
1 comb
1 nail scissor
3 packs tissues
1 emergency blanket
1 heat pack
1 pair wool socks
1 wool hat
1 bandana (each family member has the same color)
1 whistle
2 underwear
1 pair stretch gloves
1 travel size pack fever/pain reducer, tummy tablets and motion sickness prevention tablets
3 plastic bags (for refuse disposal)
1 game (playing cards, game cards, or electronic handheld game)
1 magazine (lightweight womens world, childrens, or something) (for entertainment or can be burned)
3 tealights
1 lighter
1 roll ribbon cut to 12" pieces (for playing or safety reasons) (each family member has the same color)
1 6' piece of twine
*Mine also has small sewing kit and feminine products
*DH's duct tape and leatherman



I am considering changing the instant cereal bars to instant oatmeal once I get the little can stoves. :think Though could make stoves out of tuna cans if I changed one of the packets of tuna to a can, then make the oatmeal inside of a can on a can. Or, make the oatmeal inside of a tuna pouch.

So, this is what the tentative eating plan would be:

Breakfast
Bar (nutri-grain, granola or power), Applesauce, EmergenC

Snack
Fruit roll-up

Lunch
Tuna (with mayo and relish packets stirred in), Peanut butter and cracker packet, Tea (bag added to water bottle)

Snack
Beef jerky

Dinner
Main (chili, ravioli, or stew), Veggie (except on stew night), Milk/Juice

Snack
Cookie/chocolate bar


* Normally, we don't have sugar in tea, but in an emergency circumstance, the sugar is available in case a family member needs something sweet or a little pick me up.

** I would also like to get an extra Rescue Remedy to have in my bag.


And...it all fits into 1 backpack!! :dance

[Herbwifemama]

Oooh, I love your list and some of those ideas! :rockon
I'm supposed to be making my 72 hour kits this week too, but now I'm heading out of state for a week, so I don't know. But it will work out. :yes I'm going to refer to this post though when I make my list! :)

[JoyGal]

Thanks!! :hug

I just edited to add tummy medicine (pepto tablets) and reasoning of sugar packets :heart :heart

[PurpleButterfly]

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2008/06/13/how-to-make-a-72-hour-kit/

[JoyGal]

Yes PurpleButterfly, I love the foodstoragemadeeasy site too (and their 2 sister sites for that matter) :rockon

Thanks for the other link, I'm checking it out now :)

We are going to try having a 'food storage weekend' once a year when we will eat up what is in our kits, replenish them with new foods and update supplies. At the very least, I can use the foods for lunches for a week or so. We like all of the foods in our kits so it shouldn't be a problem.

[Garland]

Thanks for sharing these ideas!

[thomer]

I started a thread on mealplanning when there is no electricity

http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/mb/index.php?topic=216610.new#new

:)

[TrinMama]

wanna come back to read.

[ArmsOfLove]

Oh, and we decided this last week that with part of our settlement from our accident we will be buying an RV and a tent that can be put up outside of it. If we outfit it with solar then we have all of our concerns addressed: ability to cook, keep clean, store and move our belongings that will go with us, etc. :tu

[Herbwifemama]

What will you do if gas becomes unavailable? That's my only concern with an RV, and how will you store food? (I mean in the "food storage" sense, not the regular food storage sense.)