A Dozen No Cost Ways to become more prepared

Often becoming more prepared for life's curve balls has a lot to do with getting better organized and less to do with spending a ton of money. I've come up with 12 simple FREE ways to help us all to head down the road of preparedness while getting better organized.  Maybe you've already got some of these covered - check it off the list and move on.  If not why not add some of these to your to-do list.

Step by step to getting prepared for emergencies.

1. Make a contact list with phone numbers and ICE (In Case of Emergency) numbers.  When the power goes out and your cellphone dies with all your phone numbers in it you will thank me. Years ago we were stuck on a highway in northern Ontario because an accident had closed the road. A woman was walking from car to car asking if anyone had a charger for her specific type of phone - not so she could make a phone call but so she could look up the phone number she needed that was only located in her dead phone.  Keeping the lines of communication open in any situation is important.  Post the list in a handy place - the side of the fridge for example and also keep a copy in your purse of wallet.  Add an ICE contact to the main screen of your cell phone so emergency personal can find it quickly.

2. Put away some water. When you're getting started you don't need fancy water storage containers - you can find all you need in your own recycle bin or the neighbours perhaps.  Wash and fill juice or pop containers with tap water and put them in an out of the way spot.  You can also place almost full jugs in the freezer to make it more efficient and to extend the freeze if the power goes out.  If you re-use empty bleach bottles or vinegar bottles mark them clearly - FOR CLEANING or flushing PURPOSES ONLY.

3. Create a starter BOB/GHB with things you already own. BOB is an acronym for a Bug Out Bag and GHB is a Get Home Bag.  It basically a bag full of helpful items that you might need if you ever had to leave home in a hurry or you wanted to get home in less than ideal circumstances.  I wonder if the most common reason for not having a BOB is that you can't make a perfect one so you don't make one at all?  Grab an old knapsack and look around the house.  Throw in an extra blanket, some granola bars and a flashlight and you have a start. I recommend going beyond that but the key is to get started and to use what you already have.  Keep the BOB in your vehicle or close to the back door so you can grab it if you need to leave in a hurry. 

4. Make a binder with super simple recipes. I'm all for gourmet meals but when life gets complicated I just want to eat things I am used to and the simpler the better.  I know how to make many things without a recipe but no one else can make it like mom if it's not written down some where!  Start a recipe box or a binder and write out explicit instructions for making your family favorites.

5. Search the house for all those random candles and put them together with some matches in a closet or drawer where you can find them if you need them.  Look for flashlights while you're at it and check the batteries.  Leave a little LED flashlight beside every bed or hang them on the back side of the door on the handle.

6. Find time to do the most important things.  We all have an idea about the things we would like to accomplish but often we end up doing things every day that waste time - too much Facebook or surfing the net maybe?? - cut down on the time wasters and put your plans into action.  Find ways to incorporate more good things like exercise and healthy eating into your routine.

7. Find money to purchase the most important things by checking your spending - look for money-wasters as ways to save so you can use the money for stocking up or taking a First Aid course.  Eating out or fast food - count the cost of what your meal would cost you at home - take note however because somehow it doesn't taste as good then!

8. Use what you have!  You know you have that certain item somewhere but you can't remember where it is so you buy another one.  Get organized so you can find it and then get creative using up what you already have.  Need bathtub cleaner?  Why not use that horrible shampoo that's been languishing in the back of the closet. It's still soap!  Use the random cleaners up (and then switch to vinegar for cleaning and make your own homemade laundry detergent to save even more!) Eat to the bottom of the freezer or the pantry and use up the little bits and the leftovers - it may save you a week or more worth of grocery money.

8.  Get prepared for being prepared by cleaning out a closet or an area in the basement/garage/laundry room where you can keep some shelf stable food or keep some camping gear a little more handy.  Being organized will spur you on to do even more!

9. Search your home for containers and organizers to stash your preparedness supplies.  Got baskets, fancy boxes, leftover shoe boxes, Dutchman's Tupperware (aka yogurt containers)? Keep them all together to help you keep your purchases organized when finances allow.

10. While you're cleaning out your closets take a hard look at what you have and what you actually need.  Donate the good stuff to a thrift store and dump the rest.  Make room for things that really matter.

11. Clean and organize your vehicle and add basics supplies.  A clean vehicle is one less stressor in the day.  Keep it tidy.  Do you have a set of booster cables in the garage - they won't help you if your battery dies in the Costco parking lot!  Put a plastic bin in the trunk and fill it with windshield wiper fluid, oil, fix-a-flat etc.  Look around for what you already have and make a list if you still need some things. Think about what else you might like to have if you're stuck on the side of the road with hungry and bored kids. Hand sanitizer, water bottles, snacks, a few books to read.  Keep them corralled so they don't end up under the seat with the squished up cheerios!

12. Start a change jar and keep your quarters and toonies and loonies.(or $1/$2 if you aren't Canadian)  OK this last one will cost money but starting the jar with the change under the couch cushions will hopefully start a good habit.

What your favorite no-cost way to prep?

A Preppers Meet

This is a busy time of the year - when isn't it busy! -but last weekend my husband and I took off and traveled quite a distance to meet with some like-minded-soon-to-be-friends.  You might wonder why that would deserve a blog post all it's own but it was such a great event and I want to share some of the highlights.

We weren't a big group - a bakers dozen in all - who had "met" on the internet through a website called the International Preppers Network - we were the Canadian contingent of course.  Each of us came with different skills and abilities, lots of questions and admittedly some fear of the unknown as well.  This is the internet age and cross-country or cross-continent communication is all the rage but meeting someone face-to-face has more risk to it.  I could comment and say - how sad that we've sunk so low that meeting with a stranger has to be such a big deal.  However - we all braved the unknown and what we discovered was beautiful.

We met at a conservation area and were thankful to have the use of a picnic shelter for the day as it did rain off and on.  The weather was warm and muggy and the mosquitoes were in their happy-place eating us alive until one very smart prepper pulled out the new OFF Powerpad Mosquito Lamp    - It worked really well and reduced the bugs to almost nothing.  They are definitely on my list!

With so much in common from our shared interests we started the chit chatting right away - in fact we had to rein in the conversations long enough to eat the wonderful potluck meal.  Lots of laughter and fun and great conversations about building a chicken coop without giving up the man-cave, how to raise rabbits for meat and ear muffs, the basic needs of being prepared for an emergency, life in your community, how to grow garlic and how not to grow garlic and what mylar bags are used for.  Later we shared what we wanted to learn next on our prepping journey and opened the conversation for others more knowledgeable to give us some advice.

We talked about canning and did a canning swap - I can't wait to try out some of the new jars of  food I brought home. We brought some things to barter and had some good-natured conversations about whether some homemade  buns were worth 3 or 4 mylar bags?  or who wanted the homemade salve the most and what they were willing to trade for it.  We traded for cookbooks, sewing needles, an Esbet stove, homemade soap, homemade buns and of course toilet paper!

There was a demonstration on how to make home made deodorant and we talked at length about how to make homemade laundry soap.  The tips flew as new friendships were made and old ones more deeply established.

Later in the day a nature walk was organized to look for plants that could be used as food or medicine.  I admit to staying back and huddling around the mosquito lamp as the bugs LOVE me but in the meantime I had some really great conversations with some others who stayed behind.

If you've ever thought of going to a meet but chicken'd out I want to encourage you to give it a try.  Please do be wise and meet in a public place and use common sense but don't let your fear stop you from attending.  You may find what I did -  a great learning opportunity  and a group of new like-minded friends.

Short Term Emergency Tips for Power Outages

Hurricane Sandy Report:  I am very grateful that this storm passed through our area with as little damage as it did this week.  Here at the farm we were without power for 12 hours and half of those were at night so it was just a minor inconvenience rather than a major problem - no lugging buckets of water for the sump pump this time as we had rain but not enough to overwhelm the basement.

The outdoor damage was minimal - one tree lost in the donkey and sheep paddock to clean up and I should be able to manage it myself since the tree wasn't huge.  Repairs to the cedar rail fence should be simple and it looks like the electric fence is stretched but still functioning. 

This storm was a good test of the emergency preps.  I can never pass up a good deal on unscented candles but if we really want good lighting to read or work by kerosene lanterns are more efficient.  We use them in the winter just for fun so they are always on display in the living room.  Several of them are the cheap hardware store versions and one of those has a malfunctioning wick turner so I'll have to take it apart this week and see if I can fix it.  The one below is an upgrade from the ones I own but conveniently available from your local hardware store - and pretty too!  I've seen many of these at antique/junk shops and they can get expensive fast.  Be sure to check for cracks in the glass base when buying second hand.

www.homehardware.ca

It's always good to remind yourself that kerosene lamps are useful but with pets and children around to be extra cautious about placing them somewhere they can't get knocked over.  I put them in a glass bowl in the centre of the table when in use and put them away up high when not in use.  I would NOT recommend using coloured or scented kerosene - instant headache for me - buy non-scented or low odour lamp oil.

The best lantern one we have is a Dietz..  It wasn't expensive - under $20 - but it lights up a room!  Canadian Tire and Home Hardware sell the Worlds Famous brand that is similar but doesn't look as well constructed.

www.Lehmans.com

I also used the power failure as an opportunity to try a few new things when it came to heating up water.  I always have some cans of sterno on hand and I wanted to see how  efficient it was for boiling water.  I know it works well to keep food hot when it's already hot.  I have multiple other more efficient ways to boil water without electricity but I was looking for one that is easy to store and can be used in the house without concern for fumes.  I put the sterno into a large dry pot on the stove, covered the pot with a cookie rack and placed the kettle on top of that.  I will say - it works but it's very slow.  I moved the sterno closer to the bottom of the kettle and that did speed things up but it would still have taken 20 minutes to boil water for 4 large cups of tea.  On the plus side - it's easy to store and it's safer and simpler than some other methods.

Here are some things to do to prepare for a storm:

Put juice containers filled with water in the freezer and keep them there at all times.  This makes the freezer more efficient by keeping it full - remove bottles when you need room for food of course!  The jugs also serve to keep the freezer frozen when the power does go out, can be used to turn your refrigerator into a giant icebox if the power failure is prolonged and provide you with clean drinking water.  Covering the freezer with comforters or old blankets also helps to maintain the temperature.

Fill the kitchen sink with soapy water.  It's a simple way to wash your hands and you won't waste bottled water.

Have bottled water!  I have large 15L water jugs that I keep in the basement along with a few cases of water bottles and as many juice jugs as I can find filled with water and a few drops of bleach.

Have hand sanitizer available in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Consolidate your kitchen freezer with your large freezer if you have one - one less place to have to keep cold.  Don't open the fridge or freezer without a plan.  Put a sign on the fridge door that says - DO NOT OPEN - to remind yourself.

Mom will yell at you!!

Keep matches, flash lights, candles, batteries and lanterns in a specific spot so you don't have to go looking for them in the dark. Keep slippers beside your bed for the same reason.  Hang mini flash lights on the basement door and bathroom doorknobs.

Keep a good supply of simple to prepare foods.  Figure out the most efficient way to heat food and water.  Sterno?  Camp stove? BBQ? Fondue set? Kerosene stove!  Have a supply of fuel too.

If it's cold or the kids are a little nervous have a camp out in the living room.  Drag down sleeping bags and pillows and stay together.  A room that can be closed off from the rest of the house is a good idea because you can attempt to keep a smaller area warm.  If you have no way of heating the room you could pop up a small tent and sleep inside.  The tent will hold in your body heat and keep you warmer.

Wash the dishes and clean the house before the storm arrives - a clean house to begin with makes sense.

Bake some muffins or pull together some easy to eat snacks before the storm hits.  Start a soup or stew you can keep warm with the sterno or use your crock pot and wrap it in towels after the power goes out and put in in the cold oven to keep it warm.

Boil  water and fill a large thermos so you don't have to heat the water all over again for another cup of tea! You can do that before the storm or after boiling water on your stove of choice - something you don't want to repeat too many times!

Keep your cell phones charged.  Get a charger for the car and don't forget you can charge them in a charged up laptop as well.  

Have at least one phone in the house that is a regular plug in - not a cordless - so you will still be able to use it if the power is off.

Play some games.  Pull out a puzzle.  Spend time with your loved ones and enjoy life without electricity for awhile while hoping and praying the power comes back on soon.  Be safe and PREPARED!

Any additions to my list?  Share your thoughts!