September is such a great time to reevaluate your family's preparedness efforts. Summer is practically over, the nights are getting shorter, kids are in school, and I find myself having more time to think about ways I can prepare my family for the future. I think we have the food aspect of preparedness pretty much nailed down, so we decided this month to focus on some of our 'nonfood' needs. My husband and I for our date this weekend decided to go to Walmart to browse up and down the aisles to see if there were items we have forgotten about in our emergency preparedness efforts.I am not sure if (or when) a natural disaster may hit our area (we all know Utah is due for a big earthquake) but we wanted to make sure we have the necessities of life in our home. Who knows how long the power, gas, phone lines, grocery stores will be shut down following an emergency situation. If we were unable to go to the store for an extended period of time, here are a few random items we found in our shopping trip that may come in handy following an emergency. If you have items that may be helpful to keep well stocked, feel free to leave a comment so we can benefit from your preparedness efforts ;)
*Toilet paper--could you ever really have enough?? Watch for t.p. to go on sale each week on Deals to Meals to know when you should stock up! Many people buy toilet paper and paper towels at Costco or Sam's but they are NOT a good deal there, surprising I know ;)
*Paper Towels
*Cleaning supplies (409, Windex, Clorox Bleach, Pine Sol, etc.)
*Paper Towels
*Cleaning supplies (409, Windex, Clorox Bleach, Pine Sol, etc.)
*
*Candles
*Thick rope
*Toothpaste and toothbrushes
*Batteries--you can't have enough! We just had a power outage and I realized how important and comforting light is. We bought several of the 7 year batteries from Costco
*Insect repelant
*Deodorant
*Shampoo & Conditioner
*Feminine hygiene products (what would we do without these..ugh!)
*LED lanterns--these are the coolest! They will run 1,000 hours on one set of D batteries (cheapest at Cabelas)
*Flashlights
*Hand sanitizer
*Duck tape
*Matches & fire starters
*Diapers, wipes & baby formula (couldn't live without these!!)--it is also a good idea to have cloth diapers on hand just in case you run out of diapers
*Shaving cream & extra shavers (hey..our hubbies can still look nice in an emergency ;)
*Liquid and hand soap
*Extra dishwasher and laundry detergent soap
*Carbon monoxide detector that runs on batteries
*Extra propane, camping stoves, butane stoves and other ways to cook & use your food storage
*Sun Oven--LOVE it..enter to win here
Extra medicine:
*Adult pain relievers
*Children's & infants pain/fever reducer
*Cough drops
*Anti-itch cream
*Sore throat spray
*Cold/cough syrup
*Flu medication--TheraFlu, etc.
*Airborne
*Extra multi-vitamins
*Allergy medicine
*Neosporin
*Masks
*Thermometer
Can you think of more items? I know I missed several. Feel free to leave comments of other items you have been stocking up on. Thanks!
*Adult pain relievers
*Children's & infants pain/fever reducer
*Cough drops
*Anti-itch cream
*Sore throat spray
*Cold/cough syrup
*Flu medication--TheraFlu, etc.
*Airborne
*Extra multi-vitamins
*Allergy medicine
*Neosporin
*Masks
*Thermometer
Can you think of more items? I know I missed several. Feel free to leave comments of other items you have been stocking up on. Thanks!
14 comments:
I became a member of deals to meals a month ago and I really like it. One thing that I was thinking about, and it would make a world of difference, is I would love to see stock up prices for certain items, does not have to be everything but things like sugar, flour, salt, beans.....right now if I see an item on sale I'm not sure if I should stock up. I have seen some stores have sales that are not in their flyer and there for not on deals to meals. I do realize that this will vary from state to state (I live in CA) but even a general idea would help, Thank you for your dedication.
P.S.
My sister in law just joined too, she loves it
I havent seen anyone stocking up on sunblock, I may be mistaken, but I think it's a very important part of outdors survival.
One thing our stake e.p. suggested is to have some bags of cat litter. If there is a major emergency and you need to do "your business" in a bucket type facility, the cat litter can be used to "cover things up". Since we have cats we try and keep a few extra containers for emergency purposes. Gross but it's the reality of life.
Chapstick with sunblock and ora-jel. A sore mouth is no fun at any time.
It's not really a stock-up item, but having an unused plunger and clean bucket can make laundry easier when there is no power. I noticed you mentioned a rope in your list, which could be used as a clothesline, but you may also want to add clothespins to the list, for those who do not already have them.
For first aid, there a product called Water Jel Burn-Jel (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?field-keywords=burn+jel&url=search-alias%3Daps&x=15&y=20), which could come in very handy, if people are cooking more out of doors and running the risk of burns. If you want to be really prepared, you may also want to consider an emergency dental kit. (http://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Supply-Emergency-Dental-Kit/dp/B001MA316C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316563360&sr=8-1)
I am also considering putting up packages of new socks, underwear, and white t-shirts for each family member...just good, basic items, that can be rotated into the regular wardrobe if not needed, or which can be used if items wear out during an emergency or extra clean laundry is needed. For growing kids, garage sales can net you a number of additional clothing items for very little money.
Other items may include leather work gloves for clean-up, rubber gloves and latex gloves for disinfecting around the home, tarps, in case you need to protect items during or after a storm, light sticks, to provide a variety of lighting options in addition to candles and flashlights, heavy garbage bags, gallon freezer bags (have a variety of uses), disposable plates, cups, and cutlery, hand-crank radio, whistles for each family member (Fox 40's are great), fire extinguishers, and a collection of entertainment items, for adults as well as kids, that don't require power (puzzles, books, games, crafts, or even school enrichment items).
I'm probably still missing a number of things, but these are just off the top of my head.
I also highly recommend Potassium Iodide
I struggle to compare prices on toilet paper. Each brand is so different and varries in amount of wipes per roll. How do you compare toilet paper to say what is best?
I see that you listed duct tape, another important thing to have in a natural disaster situation (especially earthquake) is garbage bags (and duct tape) so that you can seal of your home from outside ventilation if the air quality is poor. You want to be able to protect your family from breathing harmful materials and debri filled air.
Here is a link to other ideas to help prevent damage and injuries in an earthquake: http://www.disastersafety.org/blog/post?execution=e1s1&blogPostId=5238
Also, it is a good practice to always have at least a 1/2 tank of gas or more in your vehicle. In a disaster situation, fuel runs out fast and it having at least a 1/2 tank can help you and your family leave a disaster area a lot more quickly if needed.
I am glad that there is a whole month dedicated to emergency preparedness. I think that your list is solid. Thanks for the great info that you keep bringing our way.
Tyler
Food Storage
<a href="http://buyemergencyfoods.com/>Emergency Food</a>
I know that I am several months late - but I just found your blog. Visine is very important to have extras of. When disasters happen particles are blowing around and eyes are so sensitive.
That is a great tip Amber. Thanks! I will add some of that to my preparedness tubs ;)
I would add an extra pair of glasses for those who need them. I know I need to wear them everyday. It would be very difficult without them.
Keeping some 5 hour energy shots on had comes in handy as well. They can be rather pricey at convenience stores. I foun some locally at the dollar store. I keep some onhand at home, work and in the car.
I agree! A lot of people seem to forget to add sunblock & aloe to their stock pile! Also why does everyone think of cloth diapers as a back up but not cloth feminine products? They are great and no harder to care for than cloth diapers. I started using them about 2 years ago and my periods are shorter with less cramps. I used to get frequent infections using disposable products but not with the cloth! They are very comfortable to wear as well! There are tons of tutorials on the web with free patterns and you can use old clothing to make them! I jut took an old pair of my undies and caut out the section I wanted covered and use it to make my own pattern. Now I don't get leaks or embarrassing mishaps.
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