Prepared: What Does That Mean?
Well, most of you already know what prepared means. Today, I thought I’d share my thoughts with you on being prepared for the unexpected. I started my blog in April 2012. I’m so thankful for all of you who follow my blog and join our comment forum. We can learn so much from each other in the comments, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
When I was young food storage was a closet filled with canned goods, boxes of cereal, extra jars of condiments, flour, sugar, and baking supplies. As I remember, I started sewing when I was six or seven. It was an apron that I made, my mother taught me the joy of sewing and quilting.
We didn’t have a lot of money, but we always had food on the table. My mother taught me how fun it was to make bread, dinner rolls, and cinnamon rolls. It gave me the knowledge of how to teach others to make bread at a Bosch Kitchen store when I was older. I got paid to make bread, what? And cinnamon rolls and so much more. It was a blessing to see others learn how easy it is to make bread for their families.
Of course, there is much more to being prepared for disasters and emergencies than making bread. But, at least it’s a start on your journey to feeling like you’re truly looking out for your family so they are protected from hunger, illness, and injury.
Cinnamon Rolls and Bread Making
My cinnamon rolls will melt in your mouth, if you have fresh ingredients. I’ve asked a reader if I can teach her to make bread 2000 miles away. I know it will save money on her grocery bill. Yes, I can hear some people say, “But I don’t eat carbs.” I get it, that’s okay. My Cinnamon Rolls
I love to mention fresh ingredients, why? Because you’ll always have success making bread, dinner rolls, and cinnamon rolls if the ingredients are as fresh as possible. In case you missed this, I highly recommend only buying white flour that you’ll use in the next 12-18 months. My best recommendation for yeast is SAF Instant Yeast.
Please store your yeast in an airtight container in the freezer. I have at least 6-8 packages that are unopened. Yes, just place the original packages in the freezer. I store the yeast I use each month in an OXO container, but a quart mason jar will work great. SAF Instant Yeast
Most families need to cut their grocery bills based on the high cost of food these days, and making bread for a growing family will help so much. I must be honest with you, I have cut way back on buying meat. I won’t cave to those prices. Mark and I sometimes go really early to certain grocery stores to find the mark-downed meat. It’s just frustrating what groceries cost. Here is my No-Fail White Bread Recipe
We Must Be Prepared For Disasters
Now, the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to disaster preparedness and emergency supplies is having water stored. Your location may be prone to storms of all kinds and too much water can be a real issue. You still need to have some stored for hydration, cooking, and sanitation.
Right now Utah is preparing for flood waters from all the heavy winter snow storms this year. The problem is we need the snow from winter for water for the rest of the year. Not just now because of the drought, but for sustaining life. The challenge is if it melts too fast the hillsides, streams, and riverbeds can’t handle the runoff. The ground becomes saturated and some houses are sliding off the hill they were built on. KUTV Flooding Story. Family members have been evacuated and their homes are now condemned.
Everyone in Utah is on high alert for flooding and filling sandbags. A community not far from our home had volunteers come together last weekend and they filled over 18,000 sandbags. Local officials are cautioning people to be aware of rivers that are filling up way too fast. This is when you need to have evacuation plans ready, my friends. Our Governor has declared a State of Emergency because of the anticipated flooding.
As of today, people are rethinking if they need flood insurance or not. Unfortunately, there is a waiting period of 2 weeks to 2 months. Every policy is different. Flood damage is so expensive to repair.
What are 9 Natural Disasters to Consider Preparing For?
- Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
- Winter and Ice Storms
- Landslides, SinkHoles, and Flooding
- Thunderstorms/Lighting
- Tornadoes
- Tsunamis
- Wildfires
- Earthquakes
- Power Outages
Hurricanes and Tornados
I’ve talked to a few of you who have made it through a tornado or hurricane. We all should know what we need to store as it relates to water, food, prescription medications, warm clothing and so much more. You’re blessed if you have a shelter on your property where you can go for safety in case of sudden emergency situations. I realize not everyone has a shelter and we have seen the damage to properties on the news. Some have lost everything and have had to relocate. Some families have had family members die from the disasters. I can’t even imagine the cleanup and the emergency responders having to deal with these disasters.
In some cases, if a hurricane or tornado hits your neighborhood, your food supplies may have disappeared in the wind, literally. Hopefully, you were able to grab the important documents that you’ve set aside in a binder like your home’s trust deed, social security cards, medical info, contact information, trusts, etc. This is when the houses still standing hopefully still had some first-aid kits and a radio to hear what was going on when the power was out.
What 15 Items are clearly necessary for survival?
- Flashlights along with extra batteries
- Paper Maps Where You Live
- Solar/Battery-Powered Radio with a Hand Crank
- First Aid Kit
- Games/Cards/Books to Help Keep Our Minds Clear
- Whistles
- Manual Can Opener
- N-95 Masks or Large Handkerchiefs to Keep From Breathing In The Dust – Hand Sanitizer
- Small Durable Tool Set
- Items Needed for Our Pets
- Toilet Paper
- Backup Cooking Options
- Family Evacuation and Communication Plans
- Matches and Fire Kindling
- Fire Extinguisher
This is a short list we all know we need water and food at the very least.
Learn Skills That Are Critical
- Baking
- Cooking From Scratch
- Raising Chickens, Rabbits, Quail, Goats, or Cows, if possible
- How To Sew or Quilt
- How to Mend Clothes
- How To Protect Your Family – When and Where to Evacuate – Family Emergency Plans
- How to Garden
- How To Grow, Harvest, and Preserve Food Safely
- How to Cook Outside/Start a Fire
- Repair Cars, Trucks, or Farm Equipment
- Chop Wood and Split and Store It
- Stock Food Storage Items
- Store Water Safely
- Learn to Fish
- Learn to Hunt
Final Word
We all know we must be prepared for whatever comes our way. It may be a loss of income from the breadwinner due to accident, sickness, or death, a loss of a loved one and the related expenses, shortages at stores, or gas pumps empty. The list goes on and on. I remember when Texas had that terrible snow/ice storm a few years ago, no one could buy propane or propane tanks. No one would ever have guessed that would happen in Texas, or anywhere else for that matter. Please be prepared. May God Bless this world, Linda
Copyright Images: Young Man Chopping Wood Depositphotos_158916070_S
I too love baking. There is nothing better than warm baked goods. I have even baked bread over a wood stove with a baking attachment. We already know how to garden, and can’t wait for the sun ripened tomatoes. We have plants growing in our garage as early as December (but the garage is heated). Thanks for all the wonderful articles you share with us.
HI Janet, oh my goodness, you can bake bread over a wood stove, SQUEAL! I would love to do that! Thank you for your kind words, my friend! I can almost see those sun-ripened tomatoes from hear! Love this! Linda
Thanks for the great article, Linda. I think one way to be prepared is to PAY ATTENTION to what is going on in your area. Weather, unrest, whatever it may be. As an aside, my daughter and her family live in Utah and I’m very concerned about them. They aren’t too far from where the houses were lost in the landslides.
Hi Paula, thank you for your kind words, my sweet friend. OH, I hope it’s not Draper/Suncrest, what a mess! This is a bad year for Utah. Plus, the temperatures are going up which means the snow will melt even faster. Draper has typically had several landslides but not like this year up above on Suncrest. There are so many riverbanks overflowing several miles north of us. I hope the sandbags will hold the water. I hope your daughter lives in a good area. Linda
Linda,
When people ask me about prepping I ask them if they have home insurance? Life insurance? Health insurance? When they say, “Yes,” I say, “Prepping is just emergency situation insurance.”
Sometimes I get the whole, “Why do you have all this stuff? Do you think civilization is going to crash?” comment.
So I ask them if they have a fire extinguisher in their house. When they say, “Sure,” I ask them, “So you think your house if going to burn down?”
I then proceed to explain that, “Be Prepared,” isn’t just the Boy Scout motto, it’s a duty I owe to my family. Hopefully they get the hint that it’s a duty they owe to theirs.
Hi Ray, you nailed it again by calling it “insurance”. It is truly our duty to take care of ourselves and our families. No one is going to deliver food and water to your home immediately after a disaster. It could be days or weeks. I just shake my head when I read my church or FEMA, or the government will take care of us, I have faith that we will be okay. Well, the Lord helps those that take care of themselves. I may have written them not exactly as spoken but we have all heard it. We are responsible for ourselves. Sometimes I feel like putting up a flashing light to warn people you will be on your own. Okay, I better get off my soapbox, it’s a tall one! LOL! You’re the best! Linda
In todays times, modernization and accessibility there is little to no reason not to prepare for eventuality. You can go as far down the rabbit holes as you want with it but minimums with basic pillars should be met IE: food, water, medical, defense and shelter. It’s tornado season here. Look at your area and individual needs. My kit won’t always look like yours because my skills aren’t necessarily the same nor is the geography.
Hi Matt, you are so right, we must know what “could happen” in our own community. You have tornados, we have flooding right now, and different scenarios occur everywhere. This is why we must all be prepared for the unexpected. Stay safe, Linda
Thank you Linda for everything you share with us. My thought is to be sure people have stockpiled necessary prescription medications. I have started new pain medication but the rules on medication are SO strict that I can only get exactly what I need when I need it. I can’t even get a prescription filled one day in advance. I have no idea exactly what I will do if there is bad weather or heaven forbid, no one to pick up a script for me. Please, if you have access to necessary medication, hang on to it. Stay safe and healthy everyone.
Hi Chris, I’m so sad to hear about your pain medication limitation. I have been able to get Ibuprofen 800 mg. 90 per day with a 90-day supply for 20 years or more. It’s the only thing that works for arthritis for me anyway. Well, NOW I can only get 30 of the 800 mg per month. And I have zero refills. Yes, I can buy Advil but you have to take so many to equal what I can get via my prescription for FREE via my insurance. I don’t always use 3 of the 800 mg. a day but some days are so bad I must. Plus, I have heard now the “fish antibiotics” are being cut off for people to buy. You will need a script from a veterinarian now. Has anyone else heard this? Let me ask you this, is it your insurance or your doctor limiting the quantity? I ask for more and pay cash at different pharmacies and will not give insurance information. Just a thought. Your doctor needs to listen to you, I sure hope he does. Linda