BIG STORMS, LITTLE WORRY

Here comes the storm. At my age, I’m not overly surprised that there are storms in winter, hurricanes in summer, power outages, power surges, and general rough patches in life.

As the mother of a combat soldier in the United States of American army, I’ve also seen what can happen when man-made disasters crash down on the world. My son spent six years in combat in some of the most challenging and dangerous areas of the world. He and his fellow soldiers learned how to survive—literally.

Out of all the stuff we sent to Forward Operating Bases, he was happy to let us know that one of the most versatile, useful things we could and did send to him were wet wipes, wet wipes without perfume.

They cleaned the grit off their weapons, vehicles, equipment, wounds, and themselves.  He said that they used wet wipes for everything, on everything. Send more.

We did.

It’s my storm advice.  Stock up on wet wipes. Being clean has psychological benefits, not to be underestimated. Being clean keeps you healthy. And when you’ve got your health . . . let the storms rage. 

Wet wipes have a shelf life. They dry out. And I’ve had them go “bad.”  So long term storage becomes a question. If you dry packed them in a number ten can, would they last longer? Most likely. It would be interesting to check that out.

   

  

Prepping...the "Storms" of Life!

 

 I’ve been watching the news this week following the path of the storm. Not the Tropical Storm, just the one that decided to settle over the Southeastern part of the US. While many were worried and paying attention to the possibility of a hurricane coming this way…the area was blitzed by a “mere” fall weather storm! Who could have imagined that there would be such devastation from it? Who could have imagined people needing emergency evacuation? Or that people would die from it? Life often brings about storms that we have no control over, but with a little “preparation” can weather  a bit better. How ready are you and your family for an unexpected emergency? Here are a few areas for you to work on in planning ahead.

-Bottled Water.  (I’ve mentioned this one a FEW times before J) Since the storm hit water has been the most needed item. Four days later the need is even greater. For each of your family members, store 3 gallons, per day, per person. (Did you know the average person uses between 80-100 gallons per day?)

-Canned Food. Something easy to open and something you COULD eat cold if necessary. Think PB, jelly, crackers, tuna, canned chicken, beans, spaghetti, etc. Ask each member what they would eat and store it. Put it in a box and leave it alone. Mark it “emergency food”. Next year, rotate it all into your regular storage and replace. Your crackers will be totally stale…feed them to the birds!

-Light. When the electricity is out it is SUPER dark. No street lights. No light coming from the neighbors house. Store several different types of light. IE: candles & matches, flashlights & batteries, lanterns, wicks, fuel. Lightsticks for the kids. It will make all the difference in an emergency.

Do SOMETHING. You may not have all you need, but anything you have will help!