Emergency Prep: A Checklist

A lot of people work really well when they have a list to go by. There are a lot of things to remember when it comes to preparing, and you really don't want to forget any of it.

The American Red Cross and FEMA has put out this checklist that goes through everything you need, from supplies needed to making plans. It even has blank "rooms" for you to draw escape plans for a fire in your home. It also has a "home hazard hunt" section where you can look for things that could be potential hazards to your home.

It's 4 pages, and I highly encourage you to print it out and go through the list, even if it takes a few days. Remember if you are prepared, you will not fear.

Emergency Prep: Don't Forget About Money

I've talked about emergency funds in a past segment here on Frugal and Provident, but they are just important to your emergency preperations as they are to your financial security. Here are some things to consider:

• When we prepare for disaster it should be for all kinds, including natural, manmade, and even economic. Having food, water, and money will help you weather just about anything.
• Emergency prep includes unexpected health problems and unexpected loss of income. You can't rely on credit cards to keep you afloat.
• Remember to have a supply of cash money on hand. Should there be a natural disaster are a number of reasons why you might need cash, and might not have access to atms or credit card machines.
• Every little bit counts when it comes to emergency funds. Ideally you want six months to a year of living expenses in the bank, but don't let that deter you from starting to save even if it is a small amount. While it's better not to have to go into debt at all, $500 of debt is better then $1000, $1000 is better then $2000, and so on. A little bit is just how much less you will have to pay back when you get back on your feet.
• The following things are not emergency funds: houses, cars, jewelry, belongings, credit cards, and retirement funds. A house is not a good source because as we've seen sometimes they're worth less then you owe, or are impossible to sell/ tap your equity in a bad market. Cars, jewelry, and other belongings aren't because there's no way to know if you'll be able to sell them or their worth when you need them. Credit cards just equal debt. Retirement funds are not meant to be emergency funds. Worst case scenario they are an option, but they come with a lot of risks when withdrawing early. Make sure you understand all penalties that may come from touching that money before you retire.

You'll feel so much more peaceful if you know you have some money put away.

Great Resource- Cooking Fuels

While looking at some of the blogs I followed, I came across this little gem and decided to share. It goes over the different types of fuel you can use when you are without power. Definitely something you want to look at now before you end up without power.

Also, check-out this post of theirs on different kinds of emergency stoves you can make and how to use some of the fuels.

I encourage you to look this stuff over because most natural disasters come with power outages, so you'll need to be able to know how to make do until you can either leave the area or power is restored.

Their site in general is great for food storage tips in general, so it's worth looking around!

Where to Buy Emergency Preparedness Items



Sometimes what stops us from having our emergency supplies is we just do not know where to buy it. Here's a helpful list of places you can buy some emergency supplies (and certainly isn't a comprehensive list).

• The grocery store- great place for food items, first aid supplies, etc.
• One-stop-stores- Like Walmart and Target are good for food, first aid, and some other supplies that can usually be found in the outdoor section.
• Warehouse clubs- This can be a great place to buy large amounts of food storage items such as flour, rice, nonfat dry milk, etc.
• Camping Supply Stores- Camping stores like Bass Pro Shop, can be a great source of many emergency prep items, including more speciality items like various emergency cooking supplies, sanitary supplies, sleeping bags, etc.
• Amazon- You can buy pretty much anything on Amazon. Water storage, food storage, grain mills, etc. etc. is all found on Amazon.
• Online Speciality Stores- Some of these include Emergency Essentials and Shelf Reliance. These companies specialize specifically in emergency prep, and carry anything you can think of.

This is just a small list of places you can go for your emergency preparedness supplies. If you have any recommendations, please share them below and I will add them.

A Review of Everything

I figured now would be a good time to link-back to a bunch of emergency prep posts, so those that are new here can catch-up, and those that are old here can refresh their memories.

Food and Drink

1. Put together your 72 hour kit!
2. Learn how to store and purify water.
3. Work toward building up 3 months of food.
4. Work toward a year supply or more of food.
5. Learn how to properly store your food storage and the ways to store it.
6. Learn how to use the staples of long term food storage.
7. Learn the many places you can put your food storage.

Emergency Prep

1. Have a plan.
2. Include your kids.
3. Know how to prepare for your disasters.
4. Have proper insurance. Don't forget flood!
5. Have a financial tool-kit.

If you haven't started, please get started. Each day there are disasters and economic hardships. How much better would you feel if you knew what to do if a fire started in your home? How much better would you feel if you knew that food would be the least of your concerns, if you lose your job? Remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Don't be fooled into thinking it will never happen to you.

A Look at My Stockpile/Food Storage/ 72 Hour Kit

So I decided to do a bit of a show and tell type post today. Couponers often call what I call food storage, a stockpile. This is just my shelf stable food, as I have lots of food in my fridge/freezer and chest freezer. I also have a stockpile of toiletries, but this is just about food storage. :-)

 Here's the bottom 3 rows of my kitchen pantry. Bottom row: Juice and soda, and overflow of chips. There also vinegar and baking soda back there that you can't see. Second row: canned tomato products (sauce, paste, diced), salsa, condiments, as well as some drink mixes (box milk, lemonade, chocolate, and hot chocolate). Top row: Canned veggies, snack overflow, and what you can't see is mac and cheese. Also some more condiments.

 Top three rows of the kitchen pantry. Bottom: Snacks and canned and dried fruit. This is where I keep nits, chips, pretzels, crackers, cookies, etc. Middle: Baking! And the peanut butter/jelly shelf, but those are baking foods too. There's various flours, canned milks, shortening, chocolate chips, and sugar. My all purpose flour isn't pictured, but that's because it's a big container in another place. Top: Breakfast. Cereals, granola bars, oatmeal, syrup

 This is one of my cabinets. Bottom shelf is snacks and toddler food. Middle is rice, pasta, couscous, bread crumbs, and seasoning mix. Top shelf is more baking! Generally the stuff in this cabinet is open.

 This is my newest addition. The bottom shelf is my no 10 cans. In those are things like rice, apple chips, beans, pasta, sugar, flour, even some pudding and fruit drink. The rest is just overflow from the other. Condiments, soups, veggies, fruit, and of course breakfast food. On top is the rest of a giant bag of brown rice I got (really cheap at Gordon Food Service), the rest of which is in other containers, but I couldn't find any more containers to fit the rest. To the left you'll notice two large buckets. They contain wheat.

This is my 72 hour kit. It's located in our bathroom linen closet. The reason for this is our safe room is the master walk-in closet right next to it. Those containers have wheels, so we can just wheel them. This is part of our water storage, we also have some two liters in the garage.In the containers are food, first aid, sanitary supplies, and other things that should be in your 72 hour kit. On top of those are a picnic kit that contains plates and such, and behind that is our document tool kit. That contains all important documents. We try to keep all of this together because if there is an evacuation ordered, we just want to be able to grab and go.

Hopefully this gives you a little insight, and is informative to you. I'm not quite to a year yet, but I'm working on it, but the important thing is to work toward it.

Hurricane Season

Next week starts the beginning of Hurricane Season here on the Atlantic side. Now is a great time to make sure you are ready for a hurricane.

Here is FEMA's page on hurricane prep.

 So what should you be doing to prepare now?

• Have a plan for your home. Where will you store outside furniture? Do you have shutters? Do you know how to install them? What about boats?
• Make sure to keep up on tree and shrub maintenance. Dead branches can lead to serious damage.
• 72 hr kit! If you think you can run out to the store when a hurricane warning goes into effect, you are mistaken. Stores quickly run out of the essentials. Also be sure your 72 hour kit is portable, should you have to evacuate you will still need it. Not all shelters provide food, and stores can be out of it if trucks can't get to them.
• Know your evacuation plan. Know which roads are evacuation routes (designaed evacuation routes generally mean that if there is a mandatory evacuation then traffic on those roads will only flow out of the area). Have an idea where you will go. Do not count on shelters, they are crowded and are meant for the people who truly have no place to go. If you have a relative you can go visit, do that. Other wise you'll need to make sure you know a way to book a hotel fast. Also when they say evacuate, you should ready to go the minute the evacuation order is issued.
• Always keep your gas on the full end. When a hurricane watch is issued, people will go buy gas. This leads to long lines, high prices, and gas shortages. Save yourself the trouble and keep gas in the car, (and possibly a container at home).
• Have cash on hand. Similar to gas, some people end up withdrawing all the money a bank has. You also can't be sure that you'll be able to use credit and debit cards as the machines depend on phone and internet lines, which could be damaged in a storm. That being said you don't need to keep all of your money as cash or large sums, just enough to be able to pay for gas during your evacuation and possibly more food, housing, etc.
• Have a plan for your animals. Animals can't go in most shelters and shouldn't be left in the home to fend for themselves. Have a plan for either a kennel to hold them or to take them with you.
• Have all your documents ready. Anything you might need to prove should be in it. In other words, birth certificates, deeds, insurance documents, vaccination records, financial records, pet records, even school records (during Katrina, many children left the area, but had trouble enrolling in school in a new area because the school had no idea what classes they were taking or had taken and their grades.)
• Here is a post from the past which was from an event where our local emergency response team (they are the ones who decide to issue an evacuation )and several local people discussed things to do for disasters

I encourage you to plan now, so you are ready if a hurricane should threaten.

The Importance of Flood Insurance

It may seem like it's unneccessary. Your area never floods, you aren't near water, etc., etc. But the reality is, you need flood insurance (renters and owners included). Why?

• Most insurance policies do not cover any form of flood, which is often defined as rising water entering the home from the outside. What you might not realize is this includes man made causes as well. So say a water main breaks in the street and floods your basement. Your home insurance is not going to pay.
• Floods can becaused by droughts. That sounds silly, but the longer an area sits without rain the harder and harder the ground gets, so when it does rain the water does not drain immediately. So what was much needed rain becomes an inch of water in your living room.
• Storm surge. Your policy may cover hurricanes, but it most likely does not cover the storm surge.
• Sometimes rivers flood, which causes smaller rivers and streams to flood. Just because the small stream that runs right behind your house has never flooded, doesn't mean it couldn't some day.
• Ice melts. If you live near mountains or in areas where it snows a lot. Melting snow and ice have been known to cause problems.
• Do you own a pool? It's a very real possibility that if it rains for days and days that it could end up a big problem for you.

Ok so I've given you a bunch of reasons why you need it, now let's talk about how to get it.

• The only provider of flood insurance is the national flood insurance program, however most insurances companies can do the applications for you.
• Depending on your risk class, you will either be preferred or in a risk category. The rates differ for the two.
• In most cases it covers structure and belongings.
• If you purchase for closing, there is no waiting period, if you wait there is a 30 day waiting period. (This is similar to how you can't get a homeowner's or renter's policy when their is a named storm in the ocean, that is if you live in an area that deals with hurricanes).
• Since the program requires renewal from Congress, there are periods that if Congress is fighting over something else, no policies can be written. All the more reason not to delay in getting it.

So really it's a smart idea to get it. And if you live by any body of water, it should be a necessity (some lender's require it). Dealing with a flood is hard enough, but it's far worse when you find out your insurance pays for nothing.

Where to Store Your Food Storage

One of the main reasons people give for not storing food is, you guessed it, I don't have anywhere to store it. Last week on I Heart Publix, Michelle asked her readers about organizing and storing a stockpile. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'm just going to share a link to her post. You can find it here.

Here are some of my suggestions:

• Under beds
• In the back of closets
• On top of cabinets
• In guest rooms or offices (Buy a nice cabinet to store it in, if you want).
• If you have a climate controlled attic, basement, or garage, you can store them there. Or you can store things that don't need climate control there, like paper goods, razors, toothbrushes, etc.
• Under furniture, maybe you have a side table that has a table cloth on it. You could store it under there.

There's a lot more, so definitely check-out her post.

Ready Kids

Last week I talked about the need to have a plan, and since then there have been more natural disasters. There always will be disasters, and you can never believe it won't happen to you. One way to be ready is to make sure your kids are also ready, and where they are capable, have them be a part of making the plans and preparations. I mentioned the FEMA site last week, and this week I thought I would share their kids site. You can find it here. It has lots of games and activities to help kids be prepared.  Most kids could tell you exactly what to do if the fire alarm goes off at school, but could they tell you what to do if it went off at home? They should, which is why you should be ready.

As a side note, the more your kids are prepared the more they will (most likely) remain calm in an emergency. Remember the more kids have a chance to do something and practice the better they act in time of the actual event. (This is true of adults too). Have mock emergencies, where you act out what you will do. It adds a great piece of mind. Teach them young and often, and you should have no problem at all.

Emergency Prep: Are You Ready? Do you have a plan?

Earthquakes, tornados, blizzards, wild fires, and floods. Just a few of the things that have been happening in the last few months. Here in Florida, we aren't far from hurricane season. And of course there's always house fires that could happen. Are you ready for them? Do you have a plan?

There's a great guide put out by FEMA called "Are You Ready?" It lays out tons of hazards and what you should do before, during, and after these events. I encourage you to look it over, especially those sections that pertain to your specific area.

We've talked a lot about food, and emergency kits, but one thing I've neglected is that you need a plan. Do you know what the plan is if there is a fire in your house? Who gets the baby? Do older kids know what to look for? If you answered no, you really need a plan, and to rehearse the plan. The moment the smoke alarm goes off is not the time to be figuring out what to do. Same thing with tornadoes. When the siren goes, or the weather radio goes off, you need to know what your plan is. For larger events like hurricanes and wild fires, where are you going if you need to evacuate?

What about if you are at work when disaster strikes? Where will you meet up? There's a good chance during major disasters that you won't be able to contact your loved ones to tell them where to meet, so if you have a plan in place to meet at x,y,z place, then you'll know ahead of time.

FEMA also has a great page covering things you'll need to plan in advance, you can check that out here.

Remember, the time to plan is before you need it.

Making It Do: Thoughts and Reminder

With all the natural disasters occuring lately, I thought it would be a great week to remind you that if you haven't put together a 72 hour kit, then you should definitely get on that!
If you have put together a 72 hour kit, it would be a good time to make sure it still matches your needs and that nothing is expired!

Need help with putting together a 72 hour kit? Check out my FAQ!

In other news, I'm going to take a few weeks off of the "How Do I Use It?" segment, while I do some more research on the next few items. In the mean time, I'll be covering some more emergency prep subjects.

How Do I Use It? Oats Part IV: Special Concerns

Here are some special concerns for having oats in your storage.

• Which type? For long term storage you want old-fashioned, quick, or steel-cut oats, not instant. Most instant oatmeals have some sort of mix-in or other ingredients that can make the shelf-life shorter.
• Liquid- Unless you are making cookies or other baked goads, you'll need some liquid.

That's really all there are for special concerns. Oats are a pretty awesome thing to store.

Oats Part I, II, III

How Do I Use It? Oats Part III: Cooking

When it comes to oats, cooking is relatively simple. You may not even need too, depending on what you are making. I'm going to assume (correct me if I'm wrong) you know how to cook instant oats (the ones that come in the packets) and focus on old-fashioned and quick oats.

First we are going to focus on using them for oatmeal:

• Old-fashioned: The first thing to remember is a 2-1 ratio of liquid to oats. To cook boil liquid (milk or water) and a dash of salt. Stir in oats. Cook for 5 minute over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
• Quick Oats: The only difference for quick oat is you only cook for 1 minute instead of 5.

When it comes to baking Quick and Old-Fashioned can be used interchangeably. Some people prefer to toast the oats before use, but you don't have to. It's really a personal preference.

If using steel-cut oats, remember it will take longer to cook them.

Cooking with oats is so versatile, and simple!

How Do I Use It? Oats Part II: Types and Uses

I bet a lot of people only know of two kinds of oats instant and regular! But there are actually a few different kinds (that mainly have to do with processing), read on for more info on oats.

• Whole Oats- Whole oats have a hard outer hull that needs to be removed. If you are going to buy whole oats, the hull needs to be removed before eating.
• Oat Groats- The whole grain oat with the outer hull removed. They look like a lot like brown rice. They can be eaten at this stage, but generally people eat one of the more processed stages.
• Steel-cut Oats- A rougher cut of oats made by passing the groat through steel cutters that chop them into 3-4 pieces. Because the oat bran is still intact steel-cut oats are some of the most nutritious.
• Rolled Oats- Made by steaming and flattening groats. There are two varieties: old-fashioned and quick-cooking. The former is made by passing whole groat through steam partially cooking it and then flattening it, the latter is usually steel-cut oats that have been steamed and flattened.
• Instant Oats- These are just the next level in processing, they are made by steaming and flattening the oats more. These are the least nutritious form of oats.
• Oat Flour- Basically oats ground into a powder.

All of these types can usually be found in both white and red oats. Red and White refer to the color of the oat, and there main difference is where they are grown.

All types of oats (except the whole oat and oat flour) can be used pretty much interchangeably, it mainly depends on the texture you desire and the time you have to cook them. You obviously won't use instant oatmeal for baking, but you could use it for a quick breakfast. It's mainly a matter of preference in most situations, and they all pretty much have the same flavor.

How Do I Use It? Oats Part I: Background

Oats are a great food. We're not talking about the instant kind, we're talking about the old fashioned and/or quick oats. They taste good, and they are good for you! Let's look at the background of oats:

• Wild oats were eaten as early as the Neolithic and Bronze Ages
• Romans cultivated it.
• Often is weed-like
• Loves coled climates
• Has a short growing season.
• High prevelance in Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Germany
• In U.S. oats were originally thought of only as horse feed.
• Oatmeal became popular in U.S. because poorer immigrants needed a breakfast they could afford.
• Oats also have use to day medicinaly and in beauty treatments.

Why Should You Store It?

• Great source of dietary fiber.
• Lowers cholesterol/ heart healthy.
• Has lots of antioxidants
• Helps keep blood sugar in check.
• Lowers blood pressure.
• Helps with Bowel Function
• Makes you feel fuller for a long period
• Great for breastfeeding mom's to help with milk supply.
• Great source of protein!
• Great source of many vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
• Versatile. Great for breakfast with many options to mix in, but also can be used as a part of baking, and other meals. Can also be ground up into a flour.

How Do I Use it? Sugar Part IV: Special Concerns

My usual Special Concerns of "fuel" and "water" don't really apply with sugar because as I said before you don't technically have to do anything to sugar to eat it. That being said, there still our some special concerns.

• Diabetes. Obviously if someone in your family has diabetes, some special planning may be necessary.
• Crash. While sugar does create energy, it also creates a crash of energy. So eat wisely. The best way to avoid it is to pair it with some protein and whole grains.
• Needs something with it. Most people aren't going to eat straight sugar, so you'll need some recipes and foods to use it with (like oats!) 
• Bugs. Once the food storage has been opened, you'll have to be extra careful to keep pest out. There are tons of bugs who will want your food storage as much as you do!

Sugar Part I, II, and III. 

How Do I Use It? Sugar Part III: Cooking

The best thing about sugar is there is no cooking required to use it. You could just eat it as is, but that's way too sweet for most people.

There's really two main uses of sugar in meals: to sweeten or to counteract acidity. Below are some examples of each.

To sweeten:

• Drinks- like lemonade, koolaid, etc.
• Sweet Baking- very few baked goods do not have sugar in some amount. 
• Toppings- Whipped Cream, sprinkled on fruit, on cereal, etc.

To counteract acidity:

• This is most often in homemade pasta sauces, salsas, etc. 

One other use of sugar is in yeast baking. When you use yeast you usually proof it in water with some sugar for the yeast to feed on. If you will be baking breads with your food storage, you need some sugar.

How Do I Use It? Sugar Part II: Types and Uses

Sugar! You'd actually be surprised at the different kinds of sugar out there. But the good news is most sugars can be used interchangeably. Check-out some of the types.

• Refined Sugar- plain old white sugar
• Raw Sugar- Intermediate sugar in the refining process. Often seen referred to as "sugar in the raw"
• Brown Sugar- Sugar coated with molasses
• Turbinado Sugar- sugar that has been semi-refined. Closer to refined sugar than raw sugar.
• Evaporated Cane Juice- Another type of sweetener.
• Molasses- Syrup remaining from processing sugar
• Honey- Sweetener made by bees.
• (High Fructose) Corn Syrup- Syrup made from corn. High Fructose is just processed more.
• Invert Sugar- used in baked goods to prolong shelf-life
• Confectioner's Sugar- super fine sugar.

And of course there are several sugar substitutes out there. Some of these are better than others, but it's best just to use the real thing. Here are just a few I know of:

• Splenda
• Stevia
• Nutrisweet
• Equal
• Sweet N Low

My thoughts...

So amid all the craziness in my life these past few weeks, I haven't been quite as good at posting as I usually am, but I saw a link to this posted yesterday on iheartpublix, and it made me want to emphasize the importance of food storage.

With these winter storms all across the US, it can become real easy for you to be unable to get out of your house, and when you do you may not find food at the stores. With big winter storms and hurricanes, people sometimes fall into this false sense of security that since they know the storm will be coming they can run out and get food to cover them. Unfortunately too many people think this, which is why stores run out of important items before a storm even hits. People also then falsely assume that they only need a few days to cover them because the storm will only last a few days and then they can go to the store. This is also a really bad idea because first the stores ran out of important things before the storm got here, and there's a good chance that trucks were not able to come replenish that. If the storm is bad enough it can take weeks before the stock is replenished.

There's also the fact that many people forget that they can lose power from storms, and while power companies are pretty good at getting it back and running quickly, there is no guarantee that they will be able to. That's why you need emergency power sources. Generators, camp stoves, flash lights, etc. 

The moral of the story? The time to prepare is long before a storm is even mentioned. 

Next week I will be back to the "How Do I Use It? segment!