emergency preparedness & winter prep

As winter (and the impending socialist regime) approaches, my thoughts turn to emergency preparedness.

I found a great site, ShelfReliance, that presents lists of what you might need, emphasis on the might. It seems to me that the emergency preparedness list is a bit of over-kill, but I did glean from the site these items that every home in the county should have on hand before the winter storm season:

Food Stuffs - The Shelf Reliance food calculator will itemize a list of what you need to have on hand to feed your family for a month (or more, you can pick the amount of time). These estimates are customized for your family size and family members' ages.

According to them, if I had all this, we would be just fine if we were stormed in for month.

Grains/Pastas:

• 30 pounds of wheat, not ground up - (of course they are happy to sell me a wheat grinder)
• 6.5 pounds of pasta
• 7 pounds of rice
• 10 pounds of quick oats
• 7 pounds of cornmeal
• 7 pounds of white flour
• 14 pounds of whole wheat flour

Vegies: remember that they are selling these items in cans, so of course they are advocating canned items. Nevertheless, I think the recommendations of quantity are sound, regardless of form:

• 5 pounds of carrots
• 4 pounds of onions
• 5 pounds of potatoes
• 5 pounds of instant potatoes

Fruits:

• 5 pound of banana chips
• 20 pounds of apple slices

Dairy:

• 5 pounds of cheese
• 15 pounds of instant milk (blech)

Beans:

• 15 pounds of dried beans

Baking:

• 10 pounds baking soda
• 7 pounds salt
• 17 pounds of sugar

Food Storage:

• a feasible plan for preserving the food in the freezer if the power goes out (I have some food in ice chests in the freezer, which will keep things cold a bit longer.)
  

Emergency - I added some items to this list

Light and Information:

• hand-powered AM/FM/ Portable Radio with Flashlight
• power-generator - here is the one I want, as it has nifty bonus features: Wagan 400-Watt Power Dome EX Jumpstarter with Built-In Air Compressor
• matches
• candles
• rechargeable AA batteries
• several working flashlights

Warmth:

• full warm layers for all: boots, socks, legware, torso, neck, ears, head, hands.
• heat packs/handwarmers
• matches
• firewood

Food:

• pocket knives
• a means of cooking if there is no power or if the gas goes off (Coleman stove or BBQ with full propane tank or BBQ & brickets or, for us, a wood stove with a flat surface and a handful of cast-iron pots and pans)
• bottled water, or at least clean containers for catching rain/snow or dipping into the well

Shelter: in case the windows blow out or trees fall on your roof

• tarps
• plywood
• duct tape

Health & Hygiene:

• cold & flu medications
• bandaids
• anti-bacterial ointment
  
• Vitamin C & D
• backstock of any necessary prescription drugs
• tp
• lady products
  

Pets:

• backstock of pet food
• backstock of any necessary prescription drugs
  

What else?

:: one year ago today: first storm of the season

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