Emergency Kit

Every time I walk into my basement I feel a little guilty. I live in Utah, pretty much the preparedness capital of America and I am unprepared. I think part of that is that I don’t know what I’m preparing for and the second thing holding me back is that I tend to overwhelm myself. If three days of food is good a month would be better. No, wait! I better get a year! So I overwhelm myself with the sheer volume of stuff I think I need to keep my family safe. Then I worry about us being in … Continue reading

Personal Workplace Disaster Supplies

If you are at work in the event of an emergency, don’t count on being able to go home or even to a shelter. You may be required to shelter in place at your workplace overnight or longer. Being prepared is important, and you can’t count on your employer to provide emergency supplies that you might need. Prepare an emergency kit and keep it in your workplace to be safe. Your kit should contain the following items. A flashlight with extra batteries. If the power is out, navigating the inside of an office building or other workplace can be very … Continue reading

The Importance of Cash in an Emergency Kit

Why do you need cash in your emergency kit, and how much should you have available? Where should that cash be stored? These are all questions that should be answered if you want to be prepared. In an emergency situation, cash can come in handy if there is no access to electronic transactions and you need supplies. In most emergencies, you will probably not need cash, since either stores will be closed or inaccessible. There are some instance where having cash would be invaluable. You might need cash for tolls or campground fees if you need to evacuate to another … Continue reading

Having Somewhere to Go in an Emergency

If you are ordered to evacuate your home it is extremely important that you do not delay but leave as quickly as possible. If possible, evacuate before the official order is made. Not only will a quick escape increase your chances of rescue and survival in an emergency, but it will often shorten your travel time. Families and individuals who wait until the last moment often experience traffic congestion that delays getting to the right destination. Having an emergency to go kit can help you just pick up and get to safety, but assuming that you are prepared with supplies, … Continue reading

Pre-Packaged Preparedness Kits

One way to cut down on the time and planning it takes is to purchase already packaged preparedness kits. There are a few different companies, and they each have a variety of kits that you can purchase to suit the needs of your particular family. What types of preparedness kits are available? You can food supply kits, water kits, food storage kits, kitchen processing items, medical and first aid kits, power charges, shelter kits, navigation kits, and cooking supplies. Food supply kits are the most popular for purchase because they put all of the food that you might need for … Continue reading

Emergency Preparedness for Your Home Based Business

As Hurricane Irene continues on its path towards the Northeastern United States, everyone in its path is preparing themselves for the effects of the storm. Although Irene is likely to weaken and become a tropical storm before it reaches central Vermont where I live, most people have been taking precautions to secure their homes and acquire emergency supplies. The most likely effects that we will encounter here in the Green Mountain State are flooding in low-lying areas and very high winds that can knock down trees and power lines. At my house, we prepared by bringing all loose items from … Continue reading

Preparedness and Finances

One important aspect of preparing yourself and your family is financial preparedness. The church urges us to avoid debt, and to get out of debt as quickly as possible. It also teaches us to take financial responsibility for ourselves by saving money for emergencies and planning for retirement. If you have a lot of debt, it is important to focus on getting out of debt as much as you can. You can limit your discretionary spending and begin to budget to do this. If you need help setting up your budget or learning how to manage your money, you can … Continue reading

May 2008 Preparedness Goals

I have gotten off track on the food storage goals. This month we are going to focus on our emergency kits. If you already have one you can focus on something else that you need, or you can add to yours or update the supplies. Emergency kits are commonly used in disasters, and it is important that everyone has one. You should start with the basics and move up. Here are three basic goals you should work in regards to your emergency kits. 1) Ideally you should have an emergency kit for each member of your family. The one exception … Continue reading

January 2008 Preparedness Goals

The New Year is a great time to focus on long term preparedness goals. You can plan out what you want to accomplish this year and then break it down into twelve easy steps. December really is a hectic time of the year, but I did manage to complete all of the goals for the month. We tweaked the budget, I cooked at home the majority of the time and I found many things to be grateful for. As I consider my goals for January, I am going to include planning as an important aspect. This will help me to … Continue reading

It’s Conference Weekend and Time to Rotate Your Emergency Kits!

A great time to rotate your emergency kits is conference weekend. Many of the supplies that you store in your emergency kit are best rotated every six months. You can use the snack food as treats while you watch conference. You can also use the time to rotate the clothes from clothing for warm weather to clothing for cooler weather. While you are looking at your food supplies, check to see if your medication and first aid supplies need to be updated. This is fairly easy to do. If you do not have your entire kit together you can add … Continue reading