Friday, December 2, 2011

DECEMBER PREPAREDNESS CHALLENGE

I apologize for my absence, I tend to get all caught up in the holiday season and sometimes neglect other matters. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and that you took advantage of some great grocery sales to build up your food storage!

It's December again, and in regards to preparedness, I start thinking a lot about things that would make winter more manageable in the event of a crisis, i.e. Backup heat, backup power, blankets, clothing, winter car needs, etc. Here in the land of eternal winter, there's a lot to think about.

That can all get really overwhelming, so as usual, I am picking just one area to focus on. One goal a month...I can do that!

I am going to be scouting around for down comforters for all the beds in our home. I heard the story of a gal who lived through the Japan earthquake/tsunami and mentioned that this was absolutely crucial to keeping everyone warm when there was no power for heating. They don't have to be pretty or new, but I plan to just fold them and stick them under each bed so they will be there when needed. A bonus: I could put them on the beds underneath regular bedspreads so I can turn the heat down a couple degrees every night, and cut down on heating costs during the winter!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Thanks for your support this year!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

FILTER PICTURES COMING SOON!

On following posts you will see the info on the water filters. I am in the process of re-formatting pictures so I can add them, too...so keep checking back!

Ceramic Gravity Water Filter Info and FAQs

What do I look for in an emergency water filter?

#1 A gravity water filter is ideal because it doesn’t require electricity.

#2 Ceramic is used for effective filtration because of its ability to absorb particles and bacteria.

#3 Silver impregnated filters will not permit bacteria growth and will create a hostile environment for all microbiological organisms.

#4 Activated charcoal is used in filters. The charcoal is very porous, and many undesirable elements will adhere to the carbon as the water passes through the filter. Charcoal also takes away the bad tastes and odors.

#5 A portable gravity water filter is important so you can pick it up and take it with you.

Effective and Affordable

I was so excited when I found a water filter that had all five of these qualities and was very affordable.

This ceramic water filter has been proven to work both in the laboratory and in the field. The filter was tested by John Hopkins University, and they found it filtered out 100% of Giardia, E. Coli, Vibrio Cholerae, and several other harmful substances.

The filter does not take out 100% of the viruses. It’s more likely that you will have bacteria in the water than that you will have viruses. Viruses rarely can exist in water. If you suspect a water source has been infected with a virus, you should treat it first with a water disinfectant, like chlorine, or iodine. The gravity water filter will then take most of the chlorine and iodine out of the water.

These ceramic dome filters are being used in third world countries to clean up their drinking water.

When my good friend talked to a man ‘in the field’ that actually places them, and sees first hand how they work, he said, “Whenever there is a breakout of disease in these third-world countries and we start using the ceramic filters the epidemic stops immediately.”

Prices:

Basic Filter (includes nesting pre-drilled buckets, ceramic dome filter, spigot) $49

Deluxe Filter (includes all of above plus giant water sock and Polar Pure) $77

Giant Water Sock only $15

Polar Pure only (as available) $13


Where to Buy a Gravity Water Filter?

Each gravity water filter has four parts: one dome filter, one small filter sock, one spigot, and (2) 4 gallon buckets, and assembly and use directions. All the parts of the portable water filter will fit in the nested buckets, for easy storage. We pre-drill holes, so all you have to do is look at directions and assemble (no tools needed). We usually use ‘used food grade buckets’ to keep the cost down, but for an additional $10 per set, we can use new buckets. We just tell people to scrub them out with dishsoap and a green scrubbie, and the set is ready to go! Email foodstoragenow@gmail.com or call Michelle at 435-245-7756.

How can I extend the life of my filter?

The filter should last anywhere from six months to a year.

To extend the life of your filter, you’ll want the contaminated water to be as clean as possible. The ceramic portion is impregnated with silver, and lasts until it is worn away from scrubbing and cleaning it (100 plus times). The need for washing the ceramic filter goes down when you pre-filter the water first. That is why we recommend the giant water sock. (link coming soon)

Once the filter gets wet, the charcoal inside the ceramic shell will last 6 months. After the six months, you can put activated charcoal from the pet store (fish area) in the bottom of the upper bucket. But you don’t have to; the water just won’t taste as good. The ceramic portion will continue to work.

What if water filter wears-out or gets broken?

You can buy a couple extra domes as backups.

WATER FILTER SPECS

Specifications

This ceramic water filter is affordable and will filter out 100% of Giardia, E. Coli, Vibrio Cholerae and 25+ other harmful substances. The filtration efficiency is 0.2 micron, so it filters out all bacteria, and most if not all viruses. So you could put mud puddle water in here, with dog feces, and safely drink it (according to the president of the company, he watched a man from the field do just that!). And because of the charcoal in the filter, it actually makes it taste good too.

Ceramic Filter is Manufactured to meet:

National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 42
National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 53
ISO 9002 Quality Standard
USA AEL Laboratories
USA Analytical Food Laboratories
USA Johns Hopkins University
British 5750 Quality Standard
England’s Water Research council (WRc) Performance Standards

Removal capabilities as follows:

>99% Arsenic 5 and 99% Arsenic 3 (special order)
>99% Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
>95% Chlorine and Chloramines
>99% Taste
>99% Odor
>98% Aluminum
>96% Iron
>98% Lead
>90% Pesticides
>85% Herbicides
>85% Insecticides
>90% Rodenticides
>85% Phenols>85% MTBE
>85% Perchlorate
>80% Trihalomethanes
>95% Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons
>99.999% of particles larger than 0.5 micron
. . .(Staffordshire University Labs) (includes Anthrax)
>99.7% of particles larger than 0.3 micron(Staffordshire University Labs)
>98% of particles larger than 0.2 micron (Staffordshire University Labs)
>100% Giardia Lamblia
>100% Cyclospora
>100% removal of live Cryptosporidium (WRc Standard)
>100% removal of Cryptosporidium
. . .(NSF Standard 53 – A.C. fine dust – 4 log challenge)
>100% removal of E. Coli, Vibrio Cholerae (Johns Hopkins University)
>99.999% removal of Salmonella Typhil, Shigella Dysenteria, Kiebsiella Terrigena (Hyder Labs)

Ceramic water filter is silver impregnated

and will not permit bacteria growth-through (mitosis), provides a hostile environment for all microbiological organisms and will not support their growth. Ceramic elements may be cleaned 100 or more times with a soft brush or damp cloth.

Performance Features:

Easy installation
Good flow rate / Up to 1 gallon of clean water per hour (gravity flow)
Up to 300 gallons per hour (pressure flow)
Filter will accept water from floods, lake, rain, well, tap, river or stream
Semi/Annual filter replacement Cleansable with clean damp cloth
Shelf life is extended by shaking filter every 3-4 months to loosen media inside and prevent packing once in use, filter will last 6-8 months

Thursday, October 6, 2011

OCTOBER PREPAREDNESS CHALLENGE

Well, after a wonderfully lengthened warm season, it is now officially cold weather time, and we have discovered first hand that it is also sick season. Yick. So it's fitting that my prep goal for this month is to stock up on some of the regular over-the-counter medicines that we use during cold/flu season. Let's face it, who wants to run to the store at 2 AM to grab some Benadryl for a very sick child? It's great to have a supply of the "regulars" on hand, like:

Vicks Chest Rub (this is a must in my house...good to rub on feet to stop a cough)
Child/Infant Pain Reliever/Fever Reducer
Child/Infant Benadryl
Throat Lozenges
Tons of Vitamin D and C (I like to purchase at puritanspride.com...cheap and delivered to my door)
Sudafed
Gatorade
Sprite
Crackers
Kleenex

These things will be going on sale soon, so keep an eye out and make sure you have your home pharmacy all stocked up.

Also...baking sales are starting up already for the holidays! This is the time to stock up on baking needs for the entire year!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Easy Indoor Garden Idea

I heard this a few years ago and thought it was such a great idea for an indoor garden if that became a need (if water is scarce, it's winter, etc.). Using kitty litter boxes (a buck or two at the dollar store), potting soil, and seeds, you can create a portable garden. Stick it next to a window and you can grow short-rooted vegetables such as lettuce, beans etc. It's also space-conservative to just stick a couple of the boxes under a bed with a bag of potting soil, or to use the boxes to organize some of your storage.

I've actually thought of trying this out during the winter and having fresh vegetables during the off season!

CONTACT INFO

If you are interested in buckets, food grade bucket liners, or any of our other products you can contact us at foodstoragenow@gmail.com or 435-757-6854. We will be getting a product list up on our blog as soon as we can!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Got underwear?

I have never heard this before in all the preparedness classes I have attended, but a young mother that had been in one of the hurricane disasters was buying large amounts of 'underwear' for children. When the disaster strikes, kids get scarred, and even if they are potty trained, they wet their pants a lot. No time, or no place for bathes and keeping children washed up, so they develop medical problems from the unsanitary situation. She was also saying to get diapers for the smaller potty trained children. Toilets are not as available, and with the diaper on, the mom's can just tell their younger children not to worry about it, and to just go in their diaper. Also socks. She was buying lots of socks. Perhaps that is because the socks get wet when the child wets. Something to consider.

Canned Food Study

Wow...canned foods are virtually indestructible! Check this out!
http://www.grandpappy.info/hshelff.htm

Be In the Know About Good Deals

For those of you who like a good deal, here is a blog that my daughter Lorraine, is helping with. Looks like a nice variety of items, first being Halloween Costumes on clearance (I am tempted to get some for my grandkids). It mentions Utah deals, but most of these are available anywhere in the US. I even saw one for health foods on sale, online. Check it out and pass it on!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Food Storage Analyzer

Hey, I heard about this cool little FREE online tool to analyze your food storage based on the number of people in your family and their caloric needs. It will show you how many days you can survive on your storage as well as the nutrients you have in your storage and the ones you are lacking. It's cool! I learned a lot!

The only thing is...you need to get a good count of what's in your storage before you can use it. And...it is based on products sold by Emergency Essentials but you can add other products that you have just by using a nutritional label. (And a lot of the products that EE sells are the same that I have, just different brands, like the LDS Home Cannery or Augauson Farms...just used the EE products as substitutes.)

Try it out! I think you'll like it! www.foodstorageanalyzer.com or go the www.emergencyessentials.com and click on the food storage analyzer button.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

SEPTEMBER PREPAREDNESS CHALLENGE

I have been studying the story of Noah and Joseph of Egypt in depth for a couple of months. I would encourage you to do the same; there are some great insights there in the way of preparedness and I have gained some great inspiration for my own preparedness efforts. I think the biggest insight I have received is to be consistent with my preparedness; Noah and Joseph both knew tough times were coming and they didn't wait for the "signs" before they started preparing. They did what they were inspired to do for years before the difficulties came.

This month I have been re-organizing my 72 hour kits; basically re-packing them into totes and putting them where they are easily accessible. I have supplies/hygiene needs in one, food in another, and then each person has their individual bucket with some extra clothing,shoes, water that they can carry on their own. I don't know if this is the best way, but with my fairly big family, it works for the time being. I will do more research on 72-hour kits to see if I need to revamp at a later time, but right now I feel it is important to have it all together and accessible, at least.

I also intend to get some extra gardening supplies (hand tools, fertilizer, etc.) at clearance pricing, as well as stock up on paperware (I have an entire 20 gal. tote set aside just for paperware...don't want to use up precious water/time on dishes in a crisis situation!) It will take some discipline to leave that tote for emergency purposes only as I always seem to be out of paper plates :)

I will post a great indoor gardening idea later.

Friday, August 5, 2011

PREP FAIR THIS WEEKEND-SLC

Honeyville Grain in Salt Lake... up by the airport 5600 West.. is having an Emergency Preparedness Fair this Friday and Saturday from 9 till 7 on Fri and 8-3 on Saturday. Lots of classes being offered and lots of give aways. Thought you might be interested. They are serving breakfast on Sat morning.

Monday, August 1, 2011

AUGUST PREPAREDNESS CHALLENGE


Wow, can't believe it's August. Think about this...the year is 2/3 over. WHAT? So it's going to be Christmas in, like, 2 weeks? That's about how quick it goes folks.

And sometimes my preparedness plans fall through the cracks. But the great thing about this here blog is that each month I can re-focus and try, try again. So that's what we're doing. In keeping with my last post and focusing my efforts on specific categories, here are my goals this month:
  • BABY NEEDS: I am going to add an extra case of (large...for any size baby) disposable diapers and wipes to my brand new "baby" tote, as well as some pins and plastic pants to go over cloth diapers. I'll also throw in some extra blankets that I have on hand, some formula/bottled water with a bottle and baby cereal, and a couple little outfits. This goes with the 72 hr. kit items that I have for baby that include heavy winter clothes. This is not necessarily intended to be a long term fix, but hopefully it would provide some immediate help for me or someone else in an emergency situation. I can't imagine not having diapers on hand in a crisis!
And that's a big enough project for me for this month, what with school starting and what not. If you have any other ideas for baby emergency needs, please feel free to post!

Friday, July 15, 2011

USING YOUR FOOD STORAGE FROM USU EXTENSION

If you've ever been to the USU Extension food storage classes, you know they are wonderful! Lots of fun recipes, good information on storing your staples, and taste testing! If not, I have the next best thing. We have been trying to find an easy way to get their handouts to you, and we found the link online, yay! Because these were developed using public funds, they are free to the public, so download, print, and enjoy! (Includes wheat, rice, milk, beans, oatmeal, and homemade bread)

http://extension.usu.edu/cache/files/uploads/Cooking%20with%20Food%20Storage%20Ingredients%206-07.pdf

Monday, July 4, 2011

JULY PREPAREDNESS CHALLENGE

Happy summer! It's here and I'm really enjoying it. The living is easy...or at least, it's supposed to be, but we've found ourselves running around too crazy for easy living. So this month we are hoping to slow down a little and maybe enjoy some (lazy!) summer days.

Having said that, I still feel very compelled to keep a steady effort with my preparedness. I have been doing a lot of pondering and praying about it lately. I feel I have some new direction in the form of several categories that I need to focus on. I will list them at the end of this post if you are interested. Here are my goals for this month:

1) Stash of cash. I'll be getting my monthly preparedness budget out in cash, in smaller bills, to put aside somewhere very accessible. I have heard from several people in emergency situations that cash on hand is super important; doesn't help to have all your money tied up in the bank if you can't use your debit card, if the power is down, if banks are closed, etc.

2) Plug away at the garden. Confession: my garden is an absolute mess. Always. Every year the weeds get away from me and I finally just throw in the towel. This year I have found a way to co-exist with them. They get to live in between the rows but the actual rows of plants are MINE. It's the only way I'm going to keep my sanity. And, you know what? Vegetables can still grow and produce well in a weedy garden! I'm resigning myself to this situation until I have the money to build garden boxes...maybe next year.

Here are the categories I am working on. You can see I am working on a different one each month, I am planned through January. I have gotten some good ideas (inspiration) about what to have for each category. I am confident they will continue to come as I try to be consistent.
  • HEAT
  • LIGHT
  • COMMUNICATION
  • CLOTHING/BLANKETS
  • FUEL/POWER
  • BABY NEEDS (August)
  • GARDENING SUPPLIES (Sept)
  • CASH (July
  • HYGIENE
  • SPIRITUAL/MENTAL PREPARATION (Always!)
  • LONG TERM FOOD STORAGE
  • SHORT TERM FOOD STORAGE (Nov)
  • EXTRA COOKING SUPPLIES/PAPERWARE (Dec)
  • WATER
  • ANIMAL NEEDS
  • MEDICINE (Oct)
  • EMERGENCY DOCUMENTS (Jan)
  • 72 HOUR KITS

Monday, June 6, 2011

WHEAT CLASS SAT, JUNE 11- DON'T MISS IT!

Here is the info about our long anticipated wheat class! We are very excited to have Lorraine who came all the way out here from Pennsylvania to teach this class for us (among other things :) If you ordered wheat (or even if you didn't) she will show you some very easy ways to use your wheat, from the berry (no grinding necessary)to sprouting to delicious recipes using wheat flour. Even if you use wheat regularly, I am sure you will find some uses that are new to you. Lorraine has done a ton of research and experimenting and has a fantastic wealth of knowledge.
Please RSVP if you can make it and bring a friend if you would like! (Email me at foodstoragenow@gmail.com)

Date: Saturday, June 11

Time: 10 -11 AM

Place: Joan Elder's home, 4820 Hollow Road, Nibley (email me for directions)

Cost: Free for those who made a wheat order, $5 for others

This is normally a $20+ class so we are excited to be hosting it for such a low cost. It is excellent preparedness info and whether you are familiar with using wheat or not, everyone will learn something from it! Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

How would I fare without a kitchen in an emergency?

So...you may have noticed (or not) that I didn't write a monthly preparedness post for May. I thought about it all month long, but just couldn't do it. I have a great excuse.

My kitchen was out of commission for the entire month.

So, at first I saw this as a great adventure. I thought, now I can see how I would do in an emergency event when I couldn't use my kitchen. You know...cooking with a different source, washing dishes and finding cooking water without access to a kitchen sink, etc.

I give myself about a D-. That's how bad I did. And I can see now where I need a lot of improvement to be able to function under a highly stressful situation where I really do have to operate without my kitchen. Here are some things I learned:

1) Bottled water was invaluable. Even though we had access to bathroom water...it tasted yucky and of course in a real emergency that may not be available. We burned through those cases of water like crazy and still never really felt hydrated. I need about twice as much as I had before...and that's a lot!

2) I am lost without my dishwasher! Joan suggested a very simple way to hand wash dishes without access to a sink...buy those cheap plastic dishpans from the dollar store with soap water in one and rinsing water in the other. This is, of course, making sure you have plenty of dishwashing detergent on hand!
This is the area where I really bombed...I tried washing in my tub, from the hose, using neighbors' sink and dishwasher...in the end I gave up and just piled dirty dishes in a laundry basket until we could give them a good wash. What a pain!

3) Which leads me to another invaluable item...paperware! We didn't have nearly so many dishes as usual because we used so many paper plates, cups and utensils! Again, I should have about 10 times the amount of paperware than I now have if I ever want to make my life that much easier in an emergency. (I know it's bad for the environment but if water was scarce...it would be mighty helpful.)

4) Grill, griddle, slow cooker, blender, and toaster oven. These babies helped me get something warm on the table. Because I had electricity and propane, I was good on the energy side of things. But it's a reminder to me that I still need to get an extra propane tank and I will also be looking for a generator that can run small appliances.

5) Ready made/Easily prepared food: I am not a fan of processed food and try to avoid it when I can. However, it was a real life-saver in this situation. Granola bars, yogurt, string cheese, fruit snacks, cold cereal and PBJ's were the go-to items pretty much every day. Ready made granola, pre-browned hamburger, and pre-grilled chicken from the freezer would have been mighty helpful. Never knew how much I took that cooktop for granted till I couldn't brown a pound of hamburger! Also, easily accessible fruits and vegetables that don't require preparation would be fantastic; grapes, baby carrots, bananas, apples, etc. For whatever reason, we really craved pre-made juice; probably because we weren't getting enough water or enough fresh fruit. Stores easily and really refreshing in a pinch. Mixes are also helpful. Pancakes, cookies...whatever. Easy to make up a batch and help everyone feel "normal" for a minute.

I didn't do much grocery shopping during the entire month because we didn't really have a place to keep groceries and so I could also gauge how well we were using our food storage. I give myself about a C here; I made a valiant effort but we pretty much bought the Chinese takeout and pizza joints close to our house. Sigh...too bad that stuff isn't readily available in a crisis...

We did appreciate canned soup, bread from the freezer, tuna, crackers, pickles and dried apple chips. And mayo. Plenty of it.

6) I also had my refrigerator/freezer running. So without those I would really be hurting. Another reason to find a good generator. Ice chest coolers could be used temporarily. Also a cool trick...freeze water in milk gallon jugs in your extra freezer. Keeps things cold for awhile even if the power goes out, plus it's extra water storage!

I sure learned a lot with this experienced, mainly that I'm really not as ready as I had hoped.

How would you fare without a kitchen in an emergency???

By the way...in case you're interested...here's the fruits of our labors.

Before...
After...

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Wheat pickup info

For those who ordered wheat:
Pickup will be on Wednesday, May 25, at 6-8 PM at the JB's Flooring America store in South Logan, 1202 S. Hwy 89-91.
Directions to the store are listed below. You may pull around to the back of the store (east side-to the immediate west of the Browse Around antique store...there's a loading area there) and check in, and we can get you loaded up right from there. We plan to have some help on hand, but it would be great if you could bring a strong set of muscles if you have a big order!

If you yourself can't make it, please try and send someone in your place. We have special permission to use this building and we can't leave any of the wheat there overnight so whatever is not picked up will end up coming home with us and it becomes somewhat of a hassle for you and us. Thanks for your understanding!

See you there!

Directions to the store from the south: Turn left at the light at the Providence Maverick, heading toward Hwy 89-91. You will pass the south side of Walmart. Head straight west (even through the windy intersection), you will see Browse Around antique store just to your left (after Watkins Printing, Family Dollar, and the old Hobby Shop), take a left in the driveway just to the west of the antique shop. That goes directly to the back of the store and the loading dock.

Directions to the store from the north: Turn right at the light at the Providence Maverick, heading toward Hwy 89-91. You will pass the south side of Walmart. Head straight west (even through the windy intersection), you will see Browse Around antique store just to your left (after Watkins Printing, Family Dollar, and the old Hobby Shop), take a left in the driveway just to the west of the antique shop. That goes directly to the back of the store and the loading dock.