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Emergency Preparedness Kit Checklist
Sep 12, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a comment
Perhaps one of the easiest things to overlook in everyday life is having an actual emergency preparedness kit at your home. Many folks will even scoff at the idea, maintaining that they have an easily accessible flashlight and food in the fridge.
How often do you really need it…so why make such a big deal about it?
Most of us have endured severe weather where the weatherman/weatherlady tells us we could experience power outages…and then the power outages never happen and we all joke about how being a meteorologist must be the easiest job in the world because you don’t have to be right. You just have to be close enough.
True…you may not need an emergency kit very often in your lifetime, but it’s one of those things that when you do need it, you sure wish you had planned ahead. A good example of this is the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Sometimes we’re caught by surprise.
In the case of Katrina, it wasn’t the wind damage or flooding normally associated with hurricanes. The people of Louisiana have endured these things for years. It was the fact that a weakness in the levees allowed water to pour into the “bowl” of the city of New Orleans. Although it had been predicted as a possibility for decades, no one was truly prepared.
While Katrina is admittedly an extreme example, it serves as a cautionary tale that we should be prepared for the unexpected. Getting an emergency preparedness kit together is really quite easy. Here’s a checklist to help you:
- Flashlight with spare batteries
- First aid cream/Antibiotic ointment
- Band-Aids and bandages
- Blanket
- Extra pair of durable shoes
- Non-perishable food items to last at least a week. Freeze-dried food is a good idea and is preferred by most experts.
- Can opener (non-electric)
- A gallon of water for each person per day for a minimum of 3 days.
- Wet-naps
- Garbage bags
- Duct tape
- Disposable dust masks
- Local maps
- Cell phone with extra cell phone batteries and/or a solar charger
Store your emergency preparedness kit in an easily accessible location in your basement or garage. Of course, have a flashlight on hand in your kitchen or other easy-access area, as well. You may never need it.
We hope you never do.
But if you do need it, you’ll be prepared if a natural disaster occurs in your area by following this simple checklist:)
By Ray Boeyenga+ emergency preparedness and self-reliance advisor who regularly blogs and can be found on Twitter Too!
Good Magazine for Preppers, Survivalists, Homesteaders, Etc.
May 31, 2012 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Just thought I’d mention Backwoods Home Magazine. I really enjoy it, and the fact that it’s a ‘family’ effort. It’s not some slick citified production with more ads than content and paper that can’t possibly be recycled. I enjoy it and I hope you do too.
The ideas that they talk about also don’t require you to buy your way out of trouble. It’s not gear-centric. They don’t say you need Product X from MegaSurvivalLabs. It’s mostly doing things the old fashioned way, or least the new-fashioned way but with tools that are readily available to you.
It is definitely an American production, but the humbleness really feels Canadian. Also, they seem to be mostly non-partisan in political discussion, but maybe leaning some towards small-c conservativism. Conservative in resources, but more giving in social issues. That appeals to me and may appeal to you too.
Do you currently read Backwoods Home Magazine? If so, let me know what you think about it. Never read it? Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below.
CBC’s The Current features Preppers in Canada
Mar 25, 2012 Uncategorized 12 Comments
So I’m listening to The Current on CBC and their show on Preppers. Not even two minutes into it, and I find that they are sensationalizing the subject already.
Daryl Stratichuk, the first Canadian that they interview seems to be a pretty level headed guy, and first makes the assertion that they aren’t really living any differently than many of our parents or grandparents did. Mind you they jump to the bug-out-bag first off. Personally I don’t like the term bug-out. It’s a militaristic term and conjures up images of someone freaking out and running for the mountains.
We don’t stock a bug out bag, because, well, we are where we would bug out to.
Then they go to his stock in the basement, which sounds like a small convenience store, but still is mostly foods that are ready to eat. Freeze-dried foods, mylar pouched portions, water storage in a large bladder. In many ways they’ve bought their way to preparedness. Again nothing against that, they are definitely better off than their average neighbour and I suspect he would be helpful to his neighbours in tough times too. He just sounded like a gentleman.
Next up was James Wesley Rawles, from “somewhere west of the Rockies”. Really James? If any person with half a brain and Google wants to, they’ll find where you live. Don’t get me too wrong, he’s a wealth of information to be sure, and definitely someone who can weather just about anything, yet in my opinion he’s going to sound like a whack-job to the average CBC listener. The first risk that he lists as being a good reason to prepare is global economic failure and collapse. A possible event, but unfathomable to Joe CBC. What is more likely is that you could lose your job, there could be a serious illness in the family, maybe even just a simple car accident! Those are the things that most preppers are focused on in my opinion. Those are the reasons that Joe CBC should think about a preparedness lifestyle or philosophy.
CBC, preparedness is what you do when you get health or life insurance, it’s what you do when you just keep your pantry filled, it’s what you do when the government could pull your funding any day. Ring any bells CBC?
But should I be surprised by the CBC’s attempt to sensationalize preppers? I suppose not. After all, Canada’s top bankers just told the government that more Canadians are paying down debt and not taking as much credit and that’s BAD for Canada’s economy. Did you get that? Basically these bankers said that doing what is logical and smart is going to hurt us and that we should spend more than we have. Seriously? So our government broadcaster is keeping in character by suggesting that critical reasoning and planning is over the top.
All your average prepper does is what your parents or grandparents did. They grow some of their own food, so they’ll always have some food. They save some money for a rainy day. They keep some candles and maybe a lantern handy for when the power goes out. If you can do that, you are well on your way to being prepared.
The focus on what the disaster will be was disappointing to me. It’d be like teaching your kid to swim and constantly telling that they must learn to swim or they will certainly drown one day. You wouldn’t do that. No, you’d teach them to swim because swimming is fun, it can cool you on a hot summer day, it can be great exercise! Then maybe later you might mention something about not drowning. It all goes back to the principle, “If you know how to swim, it doesn’t matter how deep the water is.” If you are prepared for life’s little disasters you’ll be ready for big ones too. Oh, and it is fun, it can be great exercise, and it can give you peace of mind.
Well, here’s the show so you can listen for yourself.
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/03/23/preppers/
Episode 41 – Wood – An Alternative Heating Method?
Nov 17, 2011 Uncategorized Leave a comment
What has happened that heating with wood is now considered an alternative heating method? Wood is now in the same category as solar panels and wind turbines. Remember when everybody heated with wood? This episode is just a quick chat about our conversion back to wood heating, somethings that we had to consider – cost, insurance, installation, efficiency, and placement.
Get thinking about heating with wood, it’s efficient, cost effective, can get you some rebates, and is the only source of heat known to magically induce hot chocolate drinking and board game playing.
Resources:
- Efficiency – Nova Scotia – Energy Grants and Rebates
- The Woodburner’s Companion: Practical Ways Of Heating With Wood – Link to Book on Indigo.ca Website
- Heating Fuel Comparison Calculator – Link to Excel Spreadsheet to Help Compare Heating Fuel Costs
- Wood Energy Transfer Technology – Find a WETT certified specialist near you.
Photo: Ken Mayer
Happy Thanksgiving!
Oct 9, 2011 Uncategorized Leave a comment
From my family to yours, I wish you a happy, healthy, Thanksgiving with your family and friends.
Days are definitely getting shorter and the nights getting longer…and colder. How are you doing on your fall preparations? Got some fruits and veggies canned? Cleaned out the flue on the wood stove? Put up enough wood for the winter? There’s no shortage of things to do even after the harvest is in. But that’s what we live for, right?
Once it’s all done we get the joy of settling in for the winter to cuddle up with our loved ones, whether that be your spouse or a good book, or movie. You’ll be able to relax in the knowledge that if the power fails, if the ice storms come, if, if, if…you’ve got it covered. That’s the joy of being a prepper. Give thanks for that!