1. Obtain at least a two week supply of water for each member of your family. There are many different theories on safe water storage containers. An inexpensive idea is to put water in emptied, clear, plastic 2 liter pop bottles. Small water bottles are convenient in case you need to take them and go. Fifty gallon drums are good for drinking water and/or cleaning water. It is essential to have enough water—a person can only survive a few days without water. Look on the LDS website for information and safety tips for storing water. You need at least one gallon of water per person per day.
2. Put together a 72 hour kit of water, food, clothing and essentials for each person in your family. Make it portable in case you need to leave your home in a disaster. Tips: Buy 72 hr. backpacks at D.I. or Salvation Army really inexpensive. You can get backpacks with handles and wheels for the children to carry themselves, maybe put kids' 72 hr. backpacks under their beds for quick access, we like to hang the adult ones in the garage, where we can grab them on our way out. I have whistles attached to each pack, in case someone gets lost. I basically thought about what my kids (heaven forbid) would need to survive a night or two without me. I know for every child that is different. Mike and I also have some cash, small bills, set aside to grab and bring with us as well.
You should also put together a small car emergency kit. Put water and some basic essentials in a backpack in your car in case an emergency happens, and you (and your children) need to walk to somewhere safe. Items that might be important include water, snack food (granola bars, hard candy, dried fruit or jerky, etc.), a flashlight, poncho/umbrella, and a sweater or jacket in case of cold weather.
I think at some point I would love to get lists of what people have in their 72-hour packs, I love getting ideas from other families. I'm sure there are things I should add, and anyone who has actually had to USE a 72-hour pack will know what items are essential.
3. Make a list of the food items your family eats most often. (i.e.- macaroni & cheese, chili, tuna, peanut butter & jam, pasta & spaghetti sauce, etc.) Start building your food storage around those items. Start by getting a three month supply of these commonly eaten foods. One thing to remember is to buy all the components of each meal you eat on a regular basis. For example, oatmeal for breakfast wouldn’t be good without brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon & milk (powdered milk). Keep in mind that in a disaster, you won’t be able to run to the store to buy the “extras” for meals. You will need all items on hand to put together meals for your family. Once you have created a supply of these items, you can begin accumulating more long term food items. These items include grains, legumes, sugar, vegetables, fruit, salt, oil and powdered milk, etc.
4. How to store your food? The main concern is keeping insects and rodents out of your food. There are a few ways to store paper packaged food items. The first is to dry pack items at the cannery. Another is to put food items in plastic containers (Rubbermaid totes, empty plastic buckets, large plastic garbage cans, etc. ) Anything will work as long as it can be shut out from surrounding bugs and damp air. Keep food in a cool place—like a cold storage room under the porch.
5. Keep track and rotate your food items. Keep track of how much of each item you have to properly rotate your food. Tip: When you buy the food, put the month and date you purchased it on the container with a permanent marker. This way, you will know which items to use first. Put the newer food on the back of the shelf and move the older items forward. Keep a running total of each item so that at any moment you can look at your food storage sheet and see what you are running low on. (Creating a shelving system makes storing food easier to organize and rotate. This can be done inexpensively with metal shelves, commercial food storage racks, or homemade wood shelves. You will feel so good when you begin to see your own “store” growing in the basement.)
6. When items are on sale—STOCK UP! It may seem like you are spending a lot of money at once, but you will actually save money in the long run. If you buy a year supply of items, you will not need to run to the store and buy it when it’s not on sale. Think BIG—for example, a year supply of sugar for one adult is 100 lbs., times that by 3-4 people in your family & that’s 300/400 lbs. of sugar. Even if you don’t use it all in one year, don’t worry---sugar will last 30 + years. That’s why it is so important to buy items when they are at their cheapest price. Watch the ads and compare prices. Doing this will save time and money!
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