New and Improved 72 hour kit

During Baby's nap today I decided to start the 72hr kit makeover. I read about a dozen lists of what people put in their 72 hour kits and then constructed ours based on meals I knew we would eat that could be made simply by heating. We had most of the items around the house but they just weren't organized so I decided to put it all in one place with an inventory listing out the meals. This way in the event of an emergency I wouldn't have the added stress of supply gathering/meal planning in addition to everything else.  I decided to include some formula samples that were mailed to us as well as some Pedialyte; I think those are the only baby specific items as she tends to eat what we eat in addition to nursing. I chose to house it all in a Rubbermaid tote that can easily fit in the bottom of the closet until it's needed, or be tossed into the trunk of the car should the need arise. 

Hurricane Season

Whelp, it's everyone's favorite time of year, hurricane season! Our first named storm is set to hit this weekend and as a precaution I'm looking over our 72 hour kits. As Baby is now mobile I'm realizing that emergency candles may not be the best idea so I'm looking into getting another electric lantern to add to the kit. Previously our 72hr kits were packed away in backpacks but now I'm wondering if transferring it all to a Rubbermaid tote might not be a bit easier. The backpacks were good when we lived in an urban environment because if we needed to evacuate we could just take the bags and go but now our plans are to bug in so mobility is less of an issue. Plus if we needed to leave we could always a.) put the totes in the trunk of the car or b.) take out hiking packs which would double as a fairy effective 72hr kit.

As Papa has been gone its made me realize that prepping with one person can be very difficult. I singlehandedly will have to secure windows and doors, make sure he mutts go out before the storm, have the kits out and accessible along with emergency lighting should the power go out and all this while watching an almost one year old, whew! I don't think it'd be too bad if t weren't for the windows. We need some new ply locks for the windows in the nursery so I'm going to have to swing by the hardware store and pick up wood and locks and then attach them, that should be fun. They aren't predicting that this storm will be too terrible but I don't want to wait until there is a bad one predicted and be there with everyone else. 

Do you have certain seasons/events you prepare for? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Why We Prepare

When most people think of preparedness or 'prepping' they think of shows like Doomsday Bunkers and people of that ilk. Well, that's not us. We don't have a secret underground bunker or pallets of ammo (even though Papa would love to have a ton of ammo, we do enjoy shooting for sport), or 5 years worth of freeze dried food. We do however, have provisions, a plan, and three reasons why we prepare.

Water storage

Storing water is a very important part of preparedness that seems to intimidate a lot of people. Admittedly, this also intimidated us and we weren't really sure how to start. Our house doesn't have a lot of storage, we have two closets, both of which are not original to the house, and a very small kitchen.  We decided to tackle our water problem by breaking it down into 3 steps:

1. Decide where to store it.
2. Store enough for a seasonal power outage.
3. Store non-potable water for the garden and other uses.

Once we had a mini plan, water storage seemed a lot more manageable and we were able to get started.