Inch By Inch Preparedness

Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden spectacular program. Spencer W. Kimball

72 hour Kit: You now have a basic 72 hour kit, or at least you should have. Check it often and change or add things as needed. If you are comfortable with your kit, then check you car kits and see what you can do to improve them.

Family Preparation:

Teach all family members how to turn off the gas in case of an emergency. Be sure it really needs to be shut off since it could take days or longer to turn it back on. Store the proper wrench right by, to get the job done quickly if need be.

Emergency Preparation:

If you have to evacuate your house, you may have as little as 10 minutes. Under these circumstances, trying to think of what to save is very difficult. Take some time to think about what items you would try to take with you. Write down a list of the high priority items you would take if you only had 10 minutes. Remember, you may have to carry everything. If you have time during an evacuation, you may want to take steps to secure your house. Give some thought to what things you need to do to secure your home. Write down your plans and keep the paper in a safe and accessible location. Practice a drill and practice again, until you have it down to minutes.

Food Storage Thoughts:

Tomatoes are a great source of calcium and iron. They are also a great source of vitamin C, some B’s, and A. The vitamin C content increases as the vegetable ripens. The nutritional value of the tomato is good for weight loss, eye disorders, liver disorders, diabetes, and many other health problems. They are just an all around great fruit / vegetable. And we can get them for sooo cheap, at least where I live. Tomatoes could be that major source to prevent “scurvy” in our food storage. Have some home canned or store bought canned tomatoes in your food storage and learn how to use them.

Skills – What are yours?

Today is a good day to think and make a list. What I am going to do today is write a list of all the skills I believe my children and I will need in the future. And then attempt to check off that list as I teach them. I believe that our days of “normal” education are no longer adequate for the lives our children will live. They need to have real life skills, survival skills, back to basic type skills, as well as education, high tech skills, and low tech skills. They need skills to deal with economic trials, and leadership skills.

I do not like to knock the public school systems, as I also work in them, but the reality is, they don’t teach all of these kinds of things to our children, nor can they, and we as parents have that responsibility to do so.

So today make that list, think into the future of y our kids / grandchildren and try to imagine what they may need to know, (I know that is a tough one), and then get to work teaching. Make use of those family nights, Saturdays, and any teaching moment. Teaching something is also the best way to really learn it.

Happy and Healthy Prepping

Davilyn