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Martha
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| Posted: Jan 14 2007 at 3:10pm | IP Logged
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This horrid ice storm has me thinking...
Wow, I'm gonna be in serious do-do if it takes a week to replenish the pantry. Why couldn't it have happend next weekend instead of the day BEFORE payday??  I'm fairly certain things will be improved by Tuesday though. Thank goodness and I certainly hope!
I'd like to make a list for future use of items to always keep in the pantry for 1 week of emergency rations. May not do me a blessed bit of good now, but it'll be mighty nice the next time a historical storm hits.
I'm thinking:
- boxes of dry milk
- couple cases of water bottles (we have this - frozen in the bakc of the frozen sealed shut van  )
- canned foods such as vienna sausages, beans, fruit, ect..
- dried foods such as rice cakes, power bars (?), jerky,
- and to breastfeed!
Yet, another perk to the house we are considering - a wood burning fireplace!
So what would or do you do?
I've always had a small backpack with water, a box of granola bars, and band-aids to grab and go, but nothing more than that.
Lately it seems like more nd more situations are coming up to where we need to think like this. Katrina, black outs, and such... I think most people can suffer through 1 or 2 days, but it seems there are more and more situation of a weeks or more. That is rough going when people live payday to payday and rarely buy groceries for more than a few weeks, if that. The lady next door came over asking if I might have any formula to share. She has a baby about 2 months younger than mine and she doesn't breastfeed and couldn't get a hold of any formula either because where she reached was out/closed/unaccessable due to the icy roads. She was danged lucky I'm a generous person and have some samples from the hospital that they give in the free bags when I had my baby.
Thoughts on this?
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Martha
mama to 7 boys & 4 girls
Yes, they're all ours!
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Paula in MN
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| Posted: Jan 14 2007 at 3:24pm | IP Logged
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I keep a good supply of things in the pantry - dry milk, cereal, oatmeal, vegetables, applesauce, peanut butter, tomato sauce, granola bars, etc.
I have MANY bottles of water that I keep in the freezer. If I need to take a cooler somewhere, I've got ice. AND, if the electricity goes out, they will keep the freezer cool longer.
I have 2 weeks worth of dinner meals (lasagna, baked ziti, mexi-chicken)in the freezer, too.
Our pantry is next to our *yes-we-need-to-get-away-from-a-tornado* hiding area, and I have extra blankets, pillows, batteries, candles, matches, sterno, flashlights and radio in there.
And pretty much all the above is in a tote in the trunk of the car, on the off chance I'll get stuck in a blizzard....
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 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 14 2007 at 4:09pm | IP Logged
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I keep a full pantry as in.. if I could get water.. we could live off my pantry and freezer for months.
As far as what to keep for emergencies.. there's lots of 72 hour (3 day) lists that you can check out. FEMA has one.. MIllennium-Ark is another great place for info.
The big thing for me is that it needs to be stuff you'll use or it'll just get icky sitting and never being used.. everything has a shelf life. It may be that you'd rather have emergency rations for a case like this that you toss and replace every few years if it isn't needed.. I prefer to keep foods we eat and rotate.. but that does run the risk of being out of something when the emergency hits.
What you keep on hand will also depend on what access you have to water and electricity (generator?) and equipment (campstove and propane? wood stove?).
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 14 2007 at 5:28pm | IP Logged
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We grew up in earthquake country and we always had a closet of food. You need to date everything (just label the cans and boxes) so you can rotate things out. Don't forget a manual can opener (a good one...not a flimsy one that will break!). A few days' supply of diapers, wipes, etc. is also a good idea. A deck of cards wouldn't hurt, either, or a puzzle.
We recently acquired a hand-crank radio. It's a good idea to keep some food and blankets and a candle (a tiny heat source can save your life) and matches in your cars, too.
One thing I learned in the first hurricane I was in...a too-full freezer can be a liability. The food goes bad after a couple of days and you've lost hundreds of dollars' worth of meals. Insurance will pay, usually, but you have to document what was in the freezer. I tend to go with the stockpile of cans.
My parents have a generator and they have fire escape ladders in every second floor room. My mom has comfy shoes in her car in case she is stranded in an earthquake and needs to walk somewhere.
NEVER bring your grill or generator inside. No matter what. (Most folks know this, but there were a few in Washington who didn't...and they died.)
Great and timely topic.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Bridget
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| Posted: Jan 14 2007 at 5:35pm | IP Logged
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Toilet paper. Once when I was a kid we ran out in a snow storm. I ALWAYS have lots stocked in my house. Kevin laughs at me but he'll be grateful one day when we are snowed in. 
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
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Martha
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| Posted: Jan 14 2007 at 6:16pm | IP Logged
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Bridget wrote:
| Toilet paper. Once when I was a kid we ran out in a snow storm. I ALWAYS have lots stocked in my house. Kevin laughs at me but he'll be grateful one day when we are snowed in. |
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I completely agree!
Some more random ideas I've had...
Yes, I'm thinking stuff that you don't have to rebuy too often to last more than a few days. Jerky, peanut butter, shake lights! and glow sticks, can lighters (those little burner thingy? I have always called them can lighters and my dh always rolls his eyes and says what they are??  )
medical equipment (insulin and needles for example)
documentation that you are a real living human (birth certs, ssn card, and ins info) all in a ziplock bag
walkie talkies? Batteries! duct tape! (since it fixes nearly everything other than ducts! ) super glue for the same reason and a quick fix for stitches if you have to.
an old pair of RX glasses in case something happens to contacts or current pair.
FEMA says to have backpacks for each member of the family. I like that idea.
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Martha
mama to 7 boys & 4 girls
Yes, they're all ours!
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 14 2007 at 7:09pm | IP Logged
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Insurance papers and a CD of photos of your house and belongings could go into that ziplock bag.
A little first-aid kit is a good idea, too.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: stocking up to be bunkered in ?
