In the last lesson we talked about emergency preparedness. Having a heat source, having a way to heat food, having a plan in case you need to evacuate and having your bags packed and ready just in case you need to flee.
How important is it to have cash on hand? Very. I have been traveling more than once and the debit machines have been down and needed to pay for fuel with cash, while others had to sit and wait until the machines were up and running again. Last year in our province all the debit machines and banking online went down. Keep cash in a safe location in your home because you just never know when you lock your keys in your car and the locksmith doesn’t deal with credit.
Emergency supplies do not just include a backup heating source and canned food, it includes a first aide kit and medicine. If your child wakes in the middle of the night with an earache, what do you do? If you wake up in the morning with two feet of snow on the ground, and the temperatures have dropped to the point your car doesn’t start and you have a head cold, do you have medicine on hand? What if someone cuts themselves, can you clean the wound and bandage it?
Basic first aide kits you buy in the store are just that, basic, but they are a great place to start. It is wise to every month add something to your first aide kit such as scissors, tweezers, extra bandages, elastic wraps, 4 x 4s, and paper tape. Many of these supplies can be bought from your dollar store.
Have on hand age-appropriate pain medication and cold and flu tablets. It is wise to have on hand diarrhea as well as constipation medication, whether over the counter or herbal. Most medications have a two year best before date, and still are okay to use after that date.
If you are traveling outside your local area, it is wise to travel with a first aid kit, warm blankets, flashlight, battery cables, snacks, and water. Better yet, keep them in your vehicle all the time.
Keep your vehicle well maintained, from the tires to oil changes to fluids at peak levels. Where I live, it is common to drive in snowstorms and on streets of ice, but I still use caution and stay home when conditions are poor. For some, any snow or ice is a condition to stay home. If you are trapped on ice and cannot get traction, use wood ash or kitty litter under your tires.
IS THERE AN EXCUSE NOT TO PREPARE FOR AT LEAST THREE DAYS? No.
Fear will grip people in an emergency, and they will do things they normally wouldn’t do. An honest person will steal, and a hungry person will take food and a cold person will do whatever is necessary to keep warm. I worked in health care for over ten years and now I am in contact with the homeless and addicted and see how desperate some people can get. It amazes me that some people would rather steal mittens and winter coats than be given them for free. If you find yourself in a position of a power outage or some other emergency, be extremely careful who you open your door too. Even if you have taken the time to prepare yourself and family, most others have not, and they, being hungry and cold, might try to steal what you have prepared. The police might not be able to respond at all, so be wise and remember not all people are safe to allow into your home.
It is not wrong to keep your priorities on your family first; however, a wise prepper or prepared housekeeper always considers other’s needs. If you can safely help your neighbour do so, but not at the expense of causing harm to your family. Giving a hot meal to an elderly neighbour, or taking in that elderly neighbour is one thing, but to open your home to greedy neighbours or drug addicted neighbours is another thing.
Which side of the fence do you want to be on? The one starving and cold because you didn’t bother to prepare, or the one who may not have everything they want, but can survive without depending on others?
As with all things there are extremes, one side of the street has preppers who have built in shelters, with a one-year supply of water and food, ammunition, and medications, while the other side of the street there are people who are living in a home without saved water, or candles and have a baby but no diapers or formula.
No matter how long you have been prepping, you will not be prepared for everything. But something is better than nothing.
The Basic of Basic List:
Three days of water.
Three days of stored food. Ready to eat food if you don’t have a safe way to heat it. USE SAFETY Precautions while using these heating sources, which includes cracking a window for oxygen to get in and a fire extinguisher.
Candles or flashlights with extra batteries.
Blankets.
A way to charge your device to call for help if you don’t have a land line.
A supply of necessary medications or a way to keep medical equipment running. If you need oxygen and cannot keep your machine running, have a few tanks in your home to switch over too. If you have small children or babies in the home, keep formula and diapers stocked up.
You have no idea how many people run out of their medication every day, because they forgot to go pick it up or because they have always waited until the last minute to go get it. These are the people who fill the hospitals because they go without their medications for a few days and need immediate emergency care. BE PREPARED.
LET’S TALK ABOUT COSTS AND HOW TO GET STARTED WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK. DON’T LET FEAR OR ‘LACK’ OF MONEY STOP YOU FROM PREPARING.
If you have empty pop bottles or other safe bottles, fill them with tap water, and put them in a cool, dark place. The back of the pantry or closet.
The dollar stores are great places to buy pain medications, Band-Aids, extra gloves, socks, and toques. While you are there, check out the canned foods, flashlights, and candles (unscented for emergency use), as well as matches.
Write out a list of some basic things you want to have on hand in case of a power outage, being snowed in, bridge washed out, or your car doesn’t start, or your internet goes down. Scan the local flyers weekly for sales on these things, or occasionally stop by a thrift shop or secondhand store and see if they have the items on your list. Facebook marketplace and garage sales as well.
You will find an excuse for not preparing if you decide too.
Only you can prepare your supplies. As a housekeeper, it is your responsibility to keep your family safe. Don’t let financial lack keep you from preparing your supplies. Do what you can. Little by little you can make it grow.
Below are some suggestions of things to have on hand for food. If you and your family do not eat them, don’t buy them.
Bread in the freezer or a box of crackers, to make peanut butter, canned chicken, cheese, or jelly sandwiches.
Canned fruit or sauce.
Juice or milk in a carton. If you have milk, you can make pudding or a bowl of cereal.
Bars whether oat, chocolate, or granola.
If you do have a freezer, you can have muffins or other non-heat snacks in there.
A basic list for your pantry in case you cannot leave the house due to a storm, flooding, or other disaster, but you still have power or some way to heat and cook food.
- Flour
- Rice
- Canned vegetables
- Oats or bran
- Canned meat
- Canned fruit
- Baking soda and powder
- Oil whether liquid or coconut.
- Pancake mix, Bisquick
- Pasta
- Coffee, tea, and drink mixes
- Sugar, whether white, coconut or other.
- Tomato paste – add water to make sauce or herbs and water for spaghetti sauce.
- Beans – canned or dried (only if you eat them.)
- Dry soup mix for seasoning or making soup.
- Canned soup – prepared, ready to eat.
- Crackers
- Canned stew, pasta, or other canned meal.
This might not be the most appetizing menu for you and your family, but you will be fed.
Equipment to consider having in case your stove breaks down: a crock pot (you can also bake in it). A roaster (you can also bake in it.) An electric element, either coil or induction stove (make sure you have the right pots for it). Butane stove. Breadmaker. Electric frying pan.
If your furnace quits: have an electric heater or oil heater. Or consider an electric blanket if nothing else.
Always have available large pots or buckets to hold water, in case your water tank breaks. It is also a good idea to be on a good note with your neighbour in case you need to shower or wash clothing.
In later lessons we are going to talk about
Dehydrating, water bath canning, pressure canning, freezing, long term storage.
Gardening, shopping for preparedness, how to save money on food.
I WANT TO QUICKLY ADD – GARDENING IS NOT EXPENSIVE. ALL YOU NEED IS A SHOVEL AND A PIECE OF LAND WITH SUNLIGHT. I USED MY SHOVEL TO REMOVE THE SOD, TURNED THE SOIL, WITHOUT ADDING ANYTHING, PLANTED MY SEEDS AND BEHOLD I GREW VEGETABLES. I HAVE VERY SANDY SOIL HERE AND HAVE BEEN ADDING COMPOST EVERY YEAR SINCE. SOIL KNOWS WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO TO GROW PLANTS.
I LIVE IN NORTHERN CANADA, AND I CAN DIRECT SOW LETTUCE, SPINACHE, CABBAGE, CAULIFLOWER, BEANS, BEETS, CARROTS, POTATOES, PEAS, SWISS CHARD, AND HAVE A HARVEST.
IF YOU HAVE LIMITED SPACE, LIVE IN AN APPARTMENT, TOWNHOUSE, OR A SMALL URBAN AREA, CONSIDER USING A VERTICAL PLANTER. For Christmas this year I was gifted a green stock. https://greenstalkgarden.com/ There is a Canadian site as well as an US site.
Cheap places to buy seed: Dollar Stores carry seeds, such as https://youtu.be/4_XiG4iTWnc?si=Ch6Cs3_IgTyGpkmK Both in Canada and the US.
MIgardner – Seeds are only $2.00 a package – Mail ordered to Canada and the US
(I am not promoting these companies, just simply sharing.)
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