Week 21

We are preparing for disasters of all kinds so we don’t find ourselves panicked when they come.

1. We are continuing our quest to prepare for the needs of our pets. This week add pet food to your pet’s 72 hour kit. Food should be canned as opposed to dry for the first few days. We need to consider our pet’s needs as we would our own. There will be little water available the first few days, at least, after most emergencies. Dry food will increase a pet’s thirst so store canned foods. If you have older MREs they would be great as pet food. MREs have been government tested and found to be safe after 20 years. The taste may change a little but they are still safe for pets even if they are not very appealing to adults anymore. You can often find MREs on sale as they near expiration dates which is a great time to pick up a few. They are lighter weight and easier to open and use that canned food.

2. Purchase 5 pounds of flour.

3. Purchase 5 pounds of rice or pasta or a combination of both. You should be storing grains based on your 10 favorite meals. In other words, if those meals rely more on pasta than rice, store more pasta than rice. Since it is our goal to rotate these foods and thus save money, as well as being prepared for an emergency, you will want a variety of ingredients available to you.

4. Purchase masks. I hesitate to say dust masks because it is far more prudent to store N98 Triosyn medical masks. These can be used not only when cleaning up after an earthquake, tornado or other disaster but also can be used when caring for those who are ill during a pandemic. These masks will filter out smaller dust particles and also air born particles such as those released when we cough.

5. Practice splinting an arm, leg, finger, or ankle. Get out the slings you made a few weeks ago and use those to practice applying a sling. This is a great family activity.

6. Purchase a prepaid phone card for your 72 hour kit. Often after a disaster cell phones are of no use. Cell towers are down and ironically only land lines are working. Get a phone card, just in case. It doesn’t need to have more than an hour or two on it as you can always have a contact return your call but you will want to be prepared to communicate, by any means, if the opportunity should present itself.

7. Share what you are learning and how you are preparing with everyone you know. They may think you are a little crazy but just ask them to take a look at our plan and then listen to the news for a week and form their own conclusions.