All this talk about emergency kits made me wonder what should be in one. In Oregon the only disasters we might have might be weather related. I have a cupboard in the garage with canned food and a can opener. There is water, candles, matches, and hand crank radio and flashlight. What else should I have? And, has anyone ever had to use their emergency supplies?
I was in Homestead, FL during Hurricane Andrew, and again in 2004 when Katrina, Rita and Wilma came through. Wilma knocked power to my house for 2 weeks. Andrew knocked out water and power for months. Not only have I used my emergency kits, but I also figured out how to bake cakes on a BBQ grill :lol:
I would include blankets (those fleece throws are small but warm!) spare eyeglasses/contacts for anyone who wears them, and CASH-- when the ATMs are out cash is your friend! Oh, and might I suggest toilet paper?
A radio & extra batteries. If the weather looks nasty or predicted to be we bring about 2 bottles a person down to the basement!!! We don't have a kit per say, but we have stuff in our basement. OH, some bottled water. We usually have a case of the singles in the garage.
Blue, you (and everyone else) should think beyond just "weather" disasters..... Check this site: http://www.areyouprepared.com/Download-Disaster-Guidebook-s/158.htm Major........
Don't know about your bug situation, but a combined month without power in 2004 taught me all about the miracles of citronella candles, lemon Joy, and bug spray. And... powdered milk, powdered coffee creamer, a camp coffee pot/French press, granola bars/individual snacks (if you lose power for any extended amount of time, you. will. get. sick. of. canned. food), copies of all prescriptions, and if you do have a gennie, a carbon monoxide detector. Oh, and make sure you have an extra propane tank for the grill. Grill = food, coffee, and hot water for washing up.
This reminds me a I need to dump my water I put in buckets when it was windy here. The plants will get a healthy drink. We lost power, but for only about 3 hours!!! Oh I will add an extra key to another entrance besides garage if you have a door opener!!! LOL!!! I would put some kind of games like cards, pencil & papers, crayons for kiddos. When the power goes out I try to make a mental list & ask people in the fam which lights were on to check later.
This summer, the power went out for about 4 hours. My neighbor and I spend a fair amount of that time showing people how to use the physical key to disengage the garage door opener and open it manually. I was amazed how many of my fellow residents didn't know how to do that.
I have a big garbage can that I use for emergency supplies. It looks like I need to redo the kit. Things I never thought of--extra clothes, and food that is not canned, games. Thanks for the suggestions.
We keep backpacks in the basement with a blanket for each of us, extra medicines for dh and I, ibuprofen, bandaids, water, some cans of food, water, extra underwear, cash. We keep it in backpacks in case we have to evacuate for any reason. It's portable and we can get out quickly. We lost power 2 years ago in a wind storm for an entire week. None of the cash machines worked, the grill worked, but we had nothing to cook on it since the fridge was down and it was 90 degrees outside. The grocery store lost everything cold since their generator didn't come on in time. Cash was the biggest thing everyone needed because the atm machines wouldn't work and the stores that were open had no credit card capabilities. We now keep at least $500 in cash in our emergency kit. The other thing we had was a cell phone charger for the car. If the power goes out, it's the only way to charge your cell phone, and it was invaluable.
I was going to post a similar statement. Weather disasters aren't the only bad things that might happen...and they're not the worst, either. I've read before that one of the first things to become unavailable after a large-scale disaster are...big dogs! Dogs have a natural protective instinct. Most people won't mess with you (and try to take your valuable supplies during a disaster) if they see a 70-lb. dog in your house. Besides that, dogs can provide a lot of comfort during rough times. You should think about adding a dog to your family if you don't already have one. You might also want to have a couple of "safe routes" out of town in case you need to get out quickly. If things get bad, like in the form of civil unrest, riots, etc., you might want to think about leaving the area and going someplace else. If you do decide to leave, you don't want to be stuck on the freeway with thousands of other like-minded people. You want a good, quick, light-access way out. My husband and I spend a lot of time preparing for who-knows-what. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. PM me if you want!
I don't think that I have a way to get into my garage if my power goes out. I also have "safety" locks in my house that I hate, as you can only get in from the outside if these safety locks are unlocked. I guess they are great if you have kids as they are located near the top of the top and they won't be able to get out if they are locked.
Growing up in the boonies probably helped me to be able to "stockpile" things. We stock up and take care not to let supplies get low. A lot of things require a round trip of 40-100 miles, so it pays to be prepared. I could stay in my house comfortably for about two weeks if necessary. (I've stayed 9 days.) I could probably even go a month if I had to do so. Although weather is our typical emergency, we also have plans for other things. I live "downwind" of a government nerve gas storage facility, so we all know how to "shelter in place" and how to evacuate to a safe area. I know how to seal myself in a room and wait for instructions. I have an emergency radio and extra batteries. I like to keep my gas tank full, and never let it go below a half tank. I also know how to turn off the electricity, gas, and water to the house. The only time I've been unprepared for an emergency was when I was out of town when it happened. DH, Dad, and I had all gone to the "big city". Mom and the dog were at home. We dropped Dad off at dialysis and went to an appointment with our allergy doctor. While in the waiting room at the doctor's office, we saw a news story about a train accident in our town! The train got loose from a rail yard and crashed. It spilled a hazardous chemical and set fire to the woods. People in town were being evacuted or told to shelter in place. Nobody was permitted to enter the town. We were stuck. I started carrying medication after that.
