[Lady Jennelle]

Just wondering how many of you are totally prepared in case of an emergency situation?

As for myself - I know that I have a ways to go with it. :shame:

I mean, I do have a bag packed in case of family emergencies to where I have pretty much things I would need in case I were to have to leave on a moments notice.

Things such as personal items, plenty to work on [to keep busy] and my mp3 player with charger, etc.

What I need to do though is to get my cell phone charger and headphones somewhere close to the same area because those are something I might forget if I were to have to hurry.

As for things I would need to survive, well - those I do have to work on, for sure.

I have 2 flashlights and a couple of cans of soup but I honestly don't have anywhere to put any type of stockpile or anything. Suggestions?

Does anyone know how long bottled water will last [like, how long before it may not be good to drink, etc.?]

I live in a hi-rise apartment and other than those things and to buy some type of lantern, I can't think of what else I might need ...?

Since the building I live in is mainly senior citizens, I'm sure that we'd be on a priority list for help but still I'd like to be as prepared as possible myself.

I do try to keep at least 2 weeks worth of cat food ahead for just in case for Lexi would have something to eat.

Suggestions, suggestions ... suggestions, please?

Love,

Jennelle

 

[GMA21]

I bought a new emergency kit I also have some food packed {crackers, canned fruit, cookies, tea bags, equal packets, as well as some of my FREE samples such as deodorant, different types of pain releivers, blanket, flash light, pen & paper, garbage bags, needle & thread, extra supply of meds & vitamins. We ALWAYS have lots of bottled water around also.

 

[Edna_E]

Bottled water is good for many months, like maybe even a year, but should be stored out of direct sunlight (the plastic leaches stuff into the water in direct sunlight after a while).

I'd suggest an extra cell phone charger for about $10 to just keep in the bag. Also I have a windup flash light so I don't HAVE to have batteries that are not dead.

I also use a rubbermade container (about a foot and a half tall and rectangular) to keep a blanket, couple of changes of casual clothing, flashilight, catfood, a few days of meds, paper and pens, books, CD player, water, and some food (PB, crackers, tuna, oatmeal, dried fruit). It goes in the car when I'm travelling that way, and stays in the floor of the coat closet the rest of the time.

 

[freyadog]

We are prepared to bug out if we had to. Have a windup radio and also a windup flashlight. Dogfood for Freya and catfood for Snow, White and Pandora. We actually dont have any clothes together but we do have food stuffs, quilts, medicines, vitamins and water in an easy access area. Also in garage in tote bags and box we have duct tape, plastic tarps, tents, coleman stove/fuel, matches, utensils, tp, towels and wash clothes with all the other necessities for hygiene. Clothes pins, candles,rope, trash bags/ties, mirror, paper and pencil, maps of area, piece of waterhose, wire coathangers, 5 gal buckets with toilet camping lid, ball of heavy string, etc. In truck we have extra spark plugs, hoses, fan belts. Dh tries to keep both of his tanks on his truck topped off and we have 6 gas cans that can be filled if necessary from the old-man(gas powered welder) which we do keep full. As rural as we are if we were not prepared we would definitely be in a world of hurt in case a disaster should happen up here.

If you have to store water out of a well, spring or faucet for a long period of time you can add 1/8 tsp. of bleach per gal. of water to keep it from turning to green slime.

Barbara

 

[Lady Jennelle]

Wow, it sounds like you all are doing good with being prepared.

I guess I did forget to mention one little detail about myself ... I have no vehicle so wouldn't have a way to take any stuff with me if I did have to [except for my cat!]

Thanks for the ideas ... some of them I probably wouldn't have thought of.

I am going to stock up on some bottled water for sure and also peanut butter and crackers which is a good idea for something easy to fix.

Barbara, just curious ... how does the windup radio work? I mean, does it come in okay, etc. and is it like one of the emergency ones they advertise that has a light and so forth on it?

I've thought of getting one of those [I guess what I'm thinking of is one of those weather radios.]

Love,

Jennelle

 

[my4littlebuffaloes]

I have a bag packed and ready to go. It has a change of clothes for everyone in the family, a little bit of cash (need more), toiletry items, a few bottles of water and some snacky foods. It is a small bag. In the house I have lots of food, not enough water, tons of toiletries, flashlights, a gas grill, camping stove, a wood burning fireplace.

Basically we would be ok for a month or so here. If we had to leave somewhere I have an idea of what I would pack. Clothing, food, water (need more), blankets, survival stuff (compass, knife, ? what else here?), toiletries. If I had an hour I could get it all together. It is all stuff we use day to day. So I don't want to set it aside in a separate place and we don't have the money to buy extra of everything.

We have a 6 gallon gas can, but we don't usuallly keep it full,we need to start. We can definitely do better!

Jennifer

 

[freyadog]

the radio/light works great. Just wind and get a good station. We use ours alot due to weather up here. during rainy days someone always hits a pole and lights out. I have had my radio for about 10 years and it is still going strong when I need it. Ours also has a light and flasher. It is well worth the money however shop around because the prices could go from 9.99 up to 29.99....so be frugal. A lot of times I am up here on the mountain alone while dh is at work and have no lights. So this little baby keeps me company.

Barbara in Virginia

 

[freyadog]

Jennelle
You can put a 72 hour pack together with ease and put everything in a backpack. just enough to get you and your feline honey out of harms way. even though we have successfully stored for up to 3 years we have an emergency 72 hour pack ready. you never know when what you have stored will become useless and have to leave without any preparations. so put together a 72 hour pack for you and your little darling.

 

[flowergirl]

we have a camper with most of the stuff already packed and a camping box handy in place we need to make a plan on what we would do thanks for the ideas

 

[Lady Jennelle]

Dear Barbara,

Thanks so much for the info. on the light/radio and also for the idea about the 72 hour kit. A very good idea!

Love,

Jennelle

 

[Kaos Kitty]

Lady Jennelle,

I don't have a car either, and I also have a cat. My emergency kit tries to cover 3 scenarios.

1) I am trapped in my home for at least 2 weeks. For that I have taken two large plastic containers with lids and filled them with a variety of canned and instant foods, and have several cases of bottled water, the supplies for a make-shift toilet (in case water is shut off),hand sanitizer, a crowbar and hatchet to escape my home in case of an earthquake, a flashlight, wind up cell phone charger and wind up radio and a first aid kit. I am still looking for a source of alternate heat that I can use indoors (besides candles and my camp fuel) , but I do have a sleeping bag rated to -7C.

2) In case of evacuation to an emergency shelter or 3) having to camp out.What I have done is make up a back pack for each member of the family with a personal hygiene kit: a little toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss, chap stick, lotion, and disposable face cloths, like the Oil of Olay "daily wipes", and a family sunscreen and bug spray.

Everyone also has a bottle of water, a small flashlight, mini-Kleenex (duo as t.p. if necessary), a change of socks and underwear, and ziploc baggies with 3 days worth of food.

A breakfast baggie would hold instant oatmeal and a fruit bar, then a snack baggie with tea bags, sugar (I collect the packets when I eat out), and a granola bar. Lunch and supper baggies are items like flavored tuna and crackers, or rice noodles with a flavored oil packet. My criteria is that it is small and compact, and can be eaten immediately or with hot water. Because the other item I pack is a little folding stove and 3 cans of solid fuel, that is okay to be burned indoors. The folding stove is the size of a book, and the fuel only a little larger than a tuna can. I pack the fuel inside a ziploc baggie, and then store in inside the little camping pot with lid that I use to boil the water.

Other items are a small water purification tablets or 2-mini bottle system, vitamins, water proof matches, foil blanket, signal mirror, whistle, book to read, a mini survival hand guide with first aid instructions, pencil and paper, change for a pay phone and first aid items.

For my cat, I have a cat carrier that has two old towels inside. One for the cats comfort, the other to put over the cage to keep the cat from becoming upset in a stressful situation (aka seeing other pets, change of location). The top of the carrier has a little pocket that I taped in a typed sheet with my name, address, the cats name, any special medical requirements, two alternate contact numbers and addresses (family and friends who would take the cat, for example if there was a flood and my home was inaccessible and I wasn't available), and the phone number and address of two emergency pet hospitals in the area. Then I made a removable copy of the list, that I "laminated" with packing tape. Then I have taken an old laptop carrying bag, and filled it with 3 days of cat food, 3 bottles of water, a mini cat first aid kit and instructions, a list of emergency cat vets in the area and hotels that will take pets, with a list of prices. That way if I have to be evacuated, but can stay at a hotel - I know which places will let me in with the cat! I also have a cat harness and leash, so my cat can go to the bathroom. I tried to pack a foil pan and litter for a box, but it ended up being too heavy.

Having proof of spade/neuter, and up to date shots from your vet can also be helpful.

So - if you and your cat had to be evacuated, you would have 1 backpack on, a cat carrier in one hand and the cat kit slung over the other arm. I practiced with mine to make sure it was all the right weight! Another idea if a back pack is too heavy is a suitcase with a long handle and rolling wheels.

I am new to the frugal village - I have been visiting, but this is my first day posting! Emergency preparedness is a subject close to my heart. Hope these ideas help.

 

[brainyblonde]

I have camping gear stored in the garage in containers (including small bottles of propane for our lanterns and cookstove). I keep both vehicles with a full tank of gas. I know I need to get another pet carrier for our 2nd kitty and it has to be bigger than the one I have. The fat boy is bigger than most small dogs.

 

[SandNOceanGirl]

Living in Mississippi and going through Katrina has taught me alot. I had plenty of water on hand (family of 5-that was alot), candles, flashlights, batteries, lantern, etc... Canned food is the one area that I need to work on.
I keep most of the supplies in totes that can travel with us if we need to.
I really liked the idea of the backpacks for each person in the family. That will be one thing I am going to do for this hurricane season. Along with supplies for the kids I can pack items that will keep them entertained such as puzzle books, cards, etc...
Thank you all for the ideas!

 

[MarshHen]

Living on the Georgia coast, we have had to evacuate a few times because of hurricanes. I keep what we call hurricane boxes prepared at all times and update them each year at the start of hurricane season with fresh batteries, water and canned foods that I think may be expired. I have enough canned food and water to sustain us for 10 days. In the event we have to evacuate, we each have a duffel bag with clothes, personal items, medicines. And I keep important papers such as insurance on home, auto's, farm equipment, boats, and pics of each, plus pics of house, inside and out, including all out buildings in accordian folders that I can just grab and go. I also keep these folders updated with receipts and pics of anything new that we have added to the inside or outside of the house.

In the event that we don't have to evacuate, but we may loose power for several days, which where we are, is most likely to be the case, we have a commercial generator and fuel to run the fridge, freezer and lights in the house. At last count, I have 150 candles in stock, LOL. I buy 5 gallons of water every week and store it for drinking, plus, we fill up our bathtubs with water for other uses such as bathing and general cleaning. We have a gas range, grill and smoker, so cooking is not a problem. I also have a complete first aid kit which I update often.

If we had to evacuate, we have a goat trailer that DH built, so we would take the goats with us. We have two cat carriers, a dog box that DH built for his pickup for our lab and the chihuahua would ride with DD and myself. In the event that we stayed home without power, we have plenty of peanut hay and oats (bought in bulk) in dry storage, and I also buy dog and cat food in bulk. We have a working hand pump to water critters if neccessary. I don't have chickens now cause a few years ago a hurricane related storm came through and a large pine tree blew down across my coup, killing all of my chickens. We plan to rebuild and raise more chickens, but this time there won't be any trees around.

The longest we have been without power was 8 days. Live and learn!

 

[Odilia]

This is my prime prepping time. I like to be stocked to the rafters going into winter! This week, I'm going over all my inventory lists, and then I'll be filling in gaps in Sept and Oct.

In another month, I'll take the vehicle kits out and rotate all food and water in them. I'll update them for winter needs. This will mean adding another large tote of warm clothing and blankets.

Most of my prepping is done with the hope that we will harbor in place at home. This is most likely, but I still do plan for being away from home. My nightmare is to be away from home with 5 young kids and try to weather a disaster -- especially if we'd have to leave our vehicle. That scenerio is where our preps are the weakest. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how to plan for that.

I'm actually thinking of making a flatbed type of wagon that will fit in the cargo area of the Suburban. Then, I'd have a place for kids and gear, and I could attach a pop-up tent on top -- sort of my version of a homeless person's shopping cart! :huh: I'm not real sure how well that would work, though...

 

[sunshine]

We prep year round for various possible disasters ( no hurricanes here, but tornadoes, flooding, etc)

We did several weeks of disaster living last winter with all the ice storms and power outages from that. . . . I learned I need to stock pile even more kerosene. We used a huge amount just to heat the kitchen and bathroom (keeping the pipes from freezing). I learned we need better lighting for night time use. We ended up going to bed about dusk simply because we couldn't see well enough to read or crochet (we're getting older and our eyes aren't as good as they once were). . . I learned that just the acts of surviving took a toll on our emotional,physical, spiritual beings --- we need to plan to implement some better stress relief mechanisms for the future.

But - we also leaned that we had adequate food supplies, water, medicines, cooking abilities. We were warm, and safe. We had entertainment (solar/hand powered radios, car inverter for a small TV, books, cards, etc). Most of our preps worked out well -- we just need to tweak a few things.

 

[Persimmon Lace]

We would more than likely shelter in place. We are fairly prepared for that and were pleased that we were so ready for the ice storms we had. We had electricity off and on but were able to supplement my dsis with our preps as she lost power for about 9 days. Luckily she was able to heat the house with her gas stove and I had more batteries than the stores did! This storm I believe convinced a few people that, yessss, it is possible for the stores to run out of things and have lots of things go bad. We also put our plan of action in place and were able to save most of my sister's freezer/fridge stuff by making a makeshift fridge in the garage which stayed below 40 degrees and the frozen stuff we put outside in a make shift freezer.

Advanced planning is the key to just surviving or surviving really well. I've learned alot from other websites and from some of the friends I've made on the internet. I also have good prepped friends IRL, we talk about these things from time to time.

There are several things on my list that need restocking and I'm doing that as time/money allows. And some new items I want to add to the stocks.

We do have bug out bags in the cars during tornado season or just in case something happens while were are out and about. Our town is small and getting home probably wouldn't be much of a problem, but outside of town our bob's would come in handy.

 

[freyadog]

Lady Jennelle,

I don't have a car either, and I also have a cat. My emergency kit tries to cover 3 scenarios.

1) I am trapped in my home for at least 2 weeks. For that I have taken two large plastic containers with lids and filled them with a variety of canned and instant foods, and have several cases of bottled water, the supplies for a make-shift toilet (in case water is shut off),hand sanitizer, a crowbar and hatchet to escape my home in case of an earthquake, a flashlight, wind up cell phone charger and wind up radio and a first aid kit. I am still looking for a source of alternate heat that I can use indoors (besides candles and my camp fuel) , but I do have a sleeping bag rated to -7C.

2) In case of evacuation to an emergency shelter or 3) having to camp out.What I have done is make up a back pack for each member of the family with a personal hygiene kit: a little toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss, chap stick, lotion, and disposable face cloths, like the Oil of Olay "daily wipes", and a family sunscreen and bug spray.

Everyone also has a bottle of water, a small flashlight, mini-Kleenex (duo as t.p. if necessary), a change of socks and underwear, and ziploc baggies with 3 days worth of food.

A breakfast baggie would hold instant oatmeal and a fruit bar, then a snack baggie with tea bags, sugar (I collect the packets when I eat out), and a granola bar. Lunch and supper baggies are items like flavored tuna and crackers, or rice noodles with a flavored oil packet. My criteria is that it is small and compact, and can be eaten immediately or with hot water. Because the other item I pack is a little folding stove and 3 cans of solid fuel, that is okay to be burned indoors. The folding stove is the size of a book, and the fuel only a little larger than a tuna can. I pack the fuel inside a ziploc baggie, and then store in inside the little camping pot with lid that I use to boil the water.

Other items are a small water purification tablets or 2-mini bottle system, vitamins, water proof matches, foil blanket, signal mirror, whistle, book to read, a mini survival hand guide with first aid instructions, pencil and paper, change for a pay phone and first aid items.

For my cat, I have a cat carrier that has two old towels inside. One for the cats comfort, the other to put over the cage to keep the cat from becoming upset in a stressful situation (aka seeing other pets, change of location). The top of the carrier has a little pocket that I taped in a typed sheet with my name, address, the cats name, any special medical requirements, two alternate contact numbers and addresses (family and friends who would take the cat, for example if there was a flood and my home was inaccessible and I wasn't available), and the phone number and address of two emergency pet hospitals in the area. Then I made a removable copy of the list, that I "laminated" with packing tape. Then I have taken an old laptop carrying bag, and filled it with 3 days of cat food, 3 bottles of water, a mini cat first aid kit and instructions, a list of emergency cat vets in the area and hotels that will take pets, with a list of prices. That way if I have to be evacuated, but can stay at a hotel - I know which places will let me in with the cat! I also have a cat harness and leash, so my cat can go to the bathroom. I tried to pack a foil pan and litter for a box, but it ended up being too heavy.

Having proof of spade/neuter, and up to date shots from your vet can also be helpful.

So - if you and your cat had to be evacuated, you would have 1 backpack on, a cat carrier in one hand and the cat kit slung over the other arm. I practiced with mine to make sure it was all the right weight! Another idea if a back pack is too heavy is a suitcase with a long handle and rolling wheels.

I am new to the frugal village - I have been visiting, but this is my first day posting! Emergency preparedness is a subject close to my heart. Hope these ideas help.

for kitties and small dogs--I found a backpack that has for the flap, netting instead of a solid piece. My plan if I had to leave here with my babies is put Snow & White in one backpack and put it on backwards so it is on my chest. Pandora can ride on dh's chest in another. Freya of course being almost 100 lbs. would have to walk but she could use her doggie back pack to carry her own food plus maybe the girls food.