The Food Storage Blog

One of Nashville’s water treatment facilities is down due to the flooding, and local government says water should be used for cooking and drinking only.  Boston had a water main break that had officials suggesting people boil their tap water to be sure it was safe to drink.  Many things can go wrong with a water supply, and the time to prepare alternate water sources is now, not when something bad happens.

Thus, while it was going to be at least another week before I got into posts on water storage preparations, I think it’s important enough to move up the schedule.

At a bare minimum, Ready.gov suggests having one gallon of water available per person for 3 days.  As a minimum, I would suggest enough for 7 days (28 gallons for a 4-person family) to handle events like the two described above. 

An easy way to do this is to buy spring water at Walmart, usually at about a dollar a gallon.  However, be prepared to rotate your water at least once a year.  Meaning, drink water from your water storage, and when you finish a gallon, fill it back up with good tap water (or replace it, if you like), and repeat.

So I don’t have to fiddle with rotating, I use specific water storage containers, similar to these. Then, I add a water saver solution that allows the water to be stored safely for up to 5 years.

I’ll discuss other options tomorrow, such as where in your home you can find water that you might not think of, as well as using bleach, boiling, and other methods of making water safe to drink.

All that said, I highly recommend everyone go out today and stock some water away now, before you need it.

For humans, light not only provides the ability to work when the sun goes down, but it is comfort in times of stress.

As the singular William Shakespeare said:

Now, God be praised, that to believing souls gives light in darkness, comfort in despair.

While water, shelter and food are more immediate needs in times of stress or crisis, often it is a good source of light that will provide the most comfort.

So today, let’s make sure we have multiple light sources available in case of an emergency.

First, pull out your flashlight, check the batteries, and put it someplace you will be able to reach it easily when needed. Me, I stick with simplicity and my main flashlight is a D-Cell Maglite. Not only does it put off great light, it is a very solid item with a comforting weight to it, and can be used as a club in a pinch. We keep our flashlight right next to the TV, as often when the power goes out, that’s where we’ll be.

Next, make sure you have at least a dozen small candles.  Even tea-lights will do.  As in times of trouble I hate to have to look for things, I always make sure there is a lighter or matches wherever I keep my stash of candles (Plus, a lighter is part of my ‘everyday carry’ which we’ll discuss next week).  Although my wife keeps candles in almost every room in the house, our candle stash is also right near the TV and next to the flashlight.

And finally, if you want to follow the rule of 3, pick up an Electric Lantern, or an oil lamp or two (Don’t buy oil lamps from the store; they are a regular yard sale item and we usually pay only $5-$10 for some really interesting ones of much higher quality that the $10 ones you find at Wal-mart.  The Advice-Wife found a great buy the other day and picked up 4 chimneys for $1 each; be on the lookout for these as well.). These items have a higher burn time and put off enough light to play a game by.  Be careful with oil lamps though, and please don’t place them anywhere they might easily be knocked over!

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit (Typically a libertarian-leaning political blog, but he also discusses many other topics including technology, camera reviews, science, nanotech, longevity, and the law, among other random and varied subjects), mentions disaster preparedness on a fairly regular basis. 

This post today references some pertinent info that should be kept in mind.  From the Popular Mechancs article he wrote and links is solid thinking regarding why people need to prep.

When it comes to large-scale emergencies, the country has a hidden weapon–and we can do more with this resource. I’m talking about a populace filled with self-reliant, community-minded individuals. During a major crisis, on the order of Katrina or a serious California earthquake, relief services can be overwhelmed. When individuals are prepared to look after themselves for a while, with food, water and medicine on hand, and alternative sources of heat or power, it makes a big difference. [Emphasis mine] The government can’t take care of everybody at once. If disaster-relief staffs don’t have to worry about you, they can take care of others–which means that being self-reliant can actually help your community.

As Glenn would say: ‘Read the whole thing,’ including the articles at the links.

Check out this link for some more startling pictures of Nashville’s flooding.

More here and here.

Update:

And here.  And a bunch more aerial photos here.

So what is a basic definition of prepping?

A basic definition of prepping is ‘Gaining the skills, supplies, and mental and physical fortitude to be prepared for any circumstance.’ While it is likely impossible to be prepared for ‘any’ circumstance, such as the moon careening out of orbit or a large asteroid strike a la Armageddon, that is the goal we shoot for. 

When I discuss being prepared, I don’t just mean in terms of a major disaster, but also each little emergency in our lives. For example, can you change a flat or jumpstart your car? Do you know how to safely deal with a wasp’s nest underneath your porch? How to safely put out a stove fire?

So while yes, we’ll talk about being able to deal with a power outage lasting 30 days on our own store of supplies, being a prepper means being self-sufficient wherever we can. I’ll be straight up with y’all.  For most of my life, I was a chain-smoking, video-game playing, indoor-dwelling, TV-watching sloth. My opinion of a trip outside was running to the convenience store for more Amberbock. My method of changing a tire or jump-starting my car was calling AAA.

However, somewhere along the line about 7 years ago, I started controlling the elements of my life, instead of having them control me. I quit smoking cold turkey, and I was smoking 3 packs a day. I got out of debt, even though I was only making a very average wage. I started to get back into shape after having abused my body with smokes and alcohol for many years.

So please believe me when I say anyone can do this, and needs to!  My family were laughing at me recently as I struggled to dig a trench for my wife’s tomato plants.  I was actually a little hurt, but to be honest they were right to laugh.  They have never known me as anything other than a couch-dwelling, coffee-swilling layabout. 

So digging ditches was not something I had ever done before…but guess what?  It is now. I’ve learned quite a bit about good technique and not so good technique.  And as a side benefit, because so much of what I dug up was rock, I decided to kill two birds and use the rock to help with a grade I am going to build up under my porch.

If something needs to be done around my house, it is my responsibility to do it, especially if it doesn’t require specialized skills (and sometimes even if it does).  The reason I started Advice and Beans is because I believe it is time for every person to make self-sufficiency part of our lives, and to not expect others to do for us what we can do for ourselves. 

If we make it a habit to try to resolve any situation prior to calling in the cavalry, eventually we’ll find that most of us can do many tasks we used to rely on others for.  That ability to function consistently without outside assistance will help in the most critical times, because we will have conditioned ourselves to act, not react. 

So What’s Next?

Our next 3 posts will cover the individual components of prepping:  skills, supplies and fortitude.