It's why we prepare.

We ended up with little wind, lots of rain and a whole lot to do about nothing from Issac. 

But that is okay. 

We were prepared and that is the important thing. 

We know so many who do not take these storms seriously. They laugh off when we prep. It makes my heart sad because I know if I am right (and on this particular subject, I always HOPE I am wrong!) then their family will suffer for their lack of preparations. 

I understand that prepping is considered somewhat fringe thinking mostly.

But we are not talking about Zombie Apocalypse. 

Mother Nature is unyielding and can change her direction at the drop of the hat.

And I live in South Florida. How does one NOT prepare for what happens year after year?

It boggles me. And then to further make it confusing...those same folks make FUN of those of us who prepare our families and home. 

We don't live in Idaho. We live in a very hurricane PRONE area. 

I guess some of the mentality is that why prep when that's the government's job to care for us when these things happen unexpectedly.

I won't get political here but I will just point back to the disaster that followed Hurricane Katrina. There was no help. Anywhere. For quite some time.

Asking someone to care for you when you are able to care for yourself is a failing plan.

Please, I encourage you...where ever you live...to prep for the environment you live in.

You may not live in an area that has hurricanes. But maybe wildfires or snow storms are a problem for your area. Maybe you live in an utopia where Mother Nature does not inflict her punishment on you from time to time. 

Then I would encourage you to look at man made events. Being prepared does not mean you always are digging an bomb shelter in your back yard or storing tuna for 20 years. 

Ever broke down while driving? Are you prepared?

Ever lock yourself accidentally out of the house? Are you prepared?

Ever get stuck in traffic snarled highway in an unexpected incident? Are you prepared?

I could go on and on.

Prepare yourself for life's unplanned but sometimes expected moments.

Always hope your wrong and be glad when your right that you took the time to prepare.

Now, excuse me as I go rotate my tuna cans. ;)

Hurricane Issac

Posting will resume to normal once Hurricane Issac has passed us in Southwest Florida. 

Hopefully if we lose power , it won't be 10 days before we regain it like last time! 

Yikes.

Keep us in mind, send warm thoughts and prayers if your inclined. 

Thank you!

Get Prepared : Water Storage

When preparing for the upcoming Hurricane season the first crucial step for us is water storage.

We live on well water and even in a Tropical Depression where we lose power we would be without

water since it needs electric. Even a few hours makes things uncomfortable for us to operate. We can't flush toilets, brush teeth, wash up...you get the picture. So water storage is vital for us. 

Storing enough water and safely is important part of surviving any disaster. We can go without food longer than

we can go without water. More so if you have infants, elderly or those who have special medical needs.

If you are at the beginning steps of preparing your home, I always suggest you start with water.

How much?

FEMA suggests 1 gallon per person for 3 days. 

I would consider this the bare bones minimum. It is borderline just surviving. A better starting 

point would be 2 gallons per person for 5 days. Again, a starting point. Our family personally

aims to store 3 gallons per person for 14 days. 

What to store it in?

What you will store your water in will depend heavily on how many is in your family and any medical concerns. Once you access your amount you will need to store then the possibilities are endless. You can store in 2 liter bottles all the way up to 55 gallon water barrels to #10 cans of canned water with 30 year shelf life. We personally use the 5 gallon water jugs that are easily found at big chain discount stores that are intended for water dispensers. Because we have 2 able body adults this not an issue for us. 

If picking up heavy objects is something that is a struggle for your family, consider smaller containers. Above all, make sure the seal is tight and secure. You don't want water leaking out and you certainly don't want the environment creeping into your water supply and ruining your hard work.

Where to store it?

Water and it's storage containers are susceptible to extreme heat and cold, so there are some issues to 

take into account for when your storing your water. We live in a high heat area so we store our containers in a dark cool environment in our home. To help combat this it would be ideal to store in an opaque container, which we are working on.

How long?

Your water storage should be rotated every 6 months. Unless you treat your water before hand.

Don't simply just throw it out! Water your garden, flower pots, use it to flush toilets, purify and use for drinking or cooking. Get creative! Before filling up your container again, sterilize it and inspect it for signs that it is breaking down and needs to be replaced. If this is overwhelming to you, please know you can buy 

canned water that is more expensive but has a shelf life of 30 years. There is also water pouches that 

have a shelf life of 5 years. We plan to use those pouches for our Bug Out Bags.

We have no room!

This is a common thing I hear, people simply do not have the space to store water safely. If this is the case for your family I would strongly suggest you locate the nearest body of water (lake, pond, stream etc.) and 

purchase the highest quality water purifier that you can afford. Our family is saving for a Berky. But you 

can readily find travel size ones if price and size is a concern. Research them thoroughly to make sure your water will be clean and safe for your family.

The Cost of Being Unprepared

Some of you may or may not know that our family resides in South Florida.

We live in an area prone to the occasional hurricane, yearly tropical storms and

daily severe thunder storms in the summer time. We deal with power
outages almost regularly during our storm season.  Our family is some
what prepared for them but we are seriously under prepared if truth be told.
We do have a generator. My husband does a wonderful job of
pulling it out at the beginning of each season and he checks it over. He
maintains it and starts it up to make sure it in good operating order.
We have had since 2005 when we were 10 days without power due to
Hurricane Wilma, which also took our home.
Our family as of late has become concerned about the approaching
hurricane season and just economic times itself. We have decided to
step up our preparations and get ourselves truly prepared.
I thought I would share with you some of the ways we are doing that
and maybe encourage you, no matter where you live, to do the same.
Also there are areas we are still quite naive about and are learning.
Maybe you have some tips or advice for us and everyone else to help
get our preps up and running more smoothly.
Here is some of the areas we are working on.

Water:

FEMA suggests one gallon per person per day for 3 days. 

We were out power for 10 days during our hurricane ordeal. 

So I feel like that amount is just a bare bones minimum. We are

going to store 2 gallons per day per person for 7 days. Or

more if we can store it. We will be purchasing 5 gallon containers like

above and keep them sealed until we need to use them. Our long

term goal is to add a Berky Water Filter to our home. 

Food:

 While various sources recommend food for 3 to 5 days, our family

is wanting to be prepared not just a natural disaster but for an economic

disaster one as well, such as a job loss. So, we are starting our with a plan for

7 days but then we will be building on that. Since we do have dietary concerns

we are also trying to do as much of this ourselves through home canning and preserving.

That is a large task that can not be accomplished easily or quickly. But in the 

meantime we will make the best choices we can to have a 7 days food

supply on hand then work on replacing it with our own home canned/preserved food.

Lights & Power

                                                                   
We talked about our generator we have. But one thing we don't do is
store any gas for it. Oxymoron, I know! We have plenty of empty
gas cans, so we are going to fill one each week. Two or three
cans should be sufficient supply to run the generator. For lights while
the common suggestion is to store is flashlights, we have found during our experience
that preserving batteries can be an issue. We will be storing some flashlights but
we will also be storing candles and oil lamps as well. If you are
buying lamp oil please make sure you get the kind that is safe to use indoors.
Don't forget the matches!

Shelter :

We were given a 6 person tent a few weeks ago. We plan to store that
with our supplies, along with some extra tarps. Our long term goal is to
either purchase an RV or camper in case we are unable to stay in our
home or have to leave this area. We don't want to rely on shelters.
Government run shelters are usually over ran with people
during these situations and can also be a cesspool of bacteria and germs.
They also can promote crime and general feeling of panic. We prefer not
to use them. But since we do not own a trailer or RV yet we are
going to use our enclosed trailer with a few slight modifications in the event
we have to leave. I realize not everyone can  afford the choices we have made,
but I would encourage you to have a plan in place for your own shelter.
Especially if you have pets who are near and dear to you, as most of these
shelters do not allow you to bring them.

Communication:

Your will want to know what is going on in the world. We have found the
most reliable way to do this is with a weather radio. I strongly suggest you
get one that runs on batteries and hand cranked when your batteries run out.
We own one and it has been invaluable at alerting us to many of Mother
Nature's foul mood swings.  Also, it would be a good idea to keep a car cell phone
charger with your supplies. You might have to call someone for help or just to
let your family know you are okay.

First Aid:

We have a basic First Aid Kit that is store bought but we have some
medical concerns that prompts to use this as an addition to our own homemade
First Aid Kit. If you have any medications that you take on a daily or weekly
basis it is a good idea for you to have a good supply of those on hand. For our
family, we suffer from numerous allergies so we stock more than necessary. We
also like to stock ours with natural healing remedies, herbs and such as well.


Other areas we are working on:
Heat & Cooking
Pet Supplies
Tools
Cash
Rain gear for our family

Gathering supplies need not be costly. I have seen plenty of the above items and suggestions
from FEMA & Red Cross readily available at Dollar stores.  Do you have a
suggestion or an area we left out? Please comment so we can all stay prepared together.

(Note: While our family are not fearful or extremist, we do however believe current times
and nature calls for everyone to be more prepared. As evidenced with while trying to 
upload this article we lost power twice just in a causal afternoon thunder storm.)