My Passion

I'm going to get busy on this blog. I wrote this post for another group of people but it inspired me to get busy over here. I guess I was uncertain as to what I had to offer, but I won't know if it's beneficial if I do nothing at all. So here goes nothing.

Perhaps it started with 9-11. Perhaps hubby reenlisting in the Army and being exposed to certain things increased my passion. The November 5th shootings. Yeah, that helped it along too.

All around the world the fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, they all contributed.

So what IS my passion? Emergency preparedness. Strange passion huh? Not really. It is merely a passion that has put me and my family in a more stable position. There are many facets to emergency preparedness.

There is no right or wrong way to prepare for an emergency. Let me take that back. There is a wrong way. It's called doing nothing and hoping that your neighbor (or FEMA) will be there to help. Think back to hurricane Katrina. Look at what happened in New Orleans. In a matter of 3 days the society broke drown and anarchy abounded. The videos scare me, but they are very real. It DID indeed happen. No water, no food, no medical supplies. No people to help. The only one anyone could depend on for a long while was themselves.

That's where being prepared comes into play. It is different for each person. If you live in a hurricane zone you need to plan accordingly. Same for tornadoes, floods or whatever natural disaster would likely occur where you live.

My biggest 'disaster' concern is our countries financial situation. Yes, that is a big one. If a budget deal isn't work and people don't get the checks from the government whether it's Social Security or military or any other reason there are going to be many people hurting. It will be a trickle effect. Or more like a flood of financial instability. The cost of everyday things will sky rocket overnight. I would hope that this type of thing could be worked out quickly, but I still want to be ready. I don't want to be in debt and have money to survive on if needed.

There are also extremists. The ones that prepare for everything. I guess that would be nice but it would be very costly and very time consuming to be ready for every possible contingency. You really have to think about where you are and go from there.


For the sake of covering the most ground I will write about a natural disaster. It seems this has been the year for tornadoes so I will focus on that. The picture is a before and after of Joplin Missouri from a tornado that hit May 23, 2011.

A tornado rips through your town during the day. Almost everyone is at work or school.

Power is out.
Phone lines are down.
Cell towers are knocked down or the lines are too busy and you can't get through. 
Roads are blocked with debris.

It could take days before your power is restored. Your water supply might be contaminated or not working at all.

Does your family know where to meet up? What if your house was destroyed?

The food in your refrigerator will start to spoil after 24 hours.

If there is flooding that came with the tornado it could make the situation even worse.

If people don't have water or food they will go looking for it. The store shelves will empty fast. It doesn't take long for looting to start. Desperate people do desperate things. It is sad but it is true. I want to be someone who is not desperate.

The CDC recommends to store at least a 3-day supply of water for each person and each pet (try to store a 2-week supply if possible). Please, do not forget your pet. They get hungry and thirsty too.

You need to have at least 3 days food that is shelf stable or made for long term storage. I will go into more detail later about long term food storage. (It is there that lies the heart of my passion.) Think of foods in a can that be eaten uncooked. There are always MRE's but they are my least favorite food. I've tried most of them out of curiosity and suppose if I had to live on them I would. But there are much cheaper alternatives.

Have a well stocked first aid kit. One of those little kits will work great if someone gets a sliver but your first aid kit should be stocked enough that at a minimum it fills a tackle box. Pain relievers, gauze, tape, antibiotic, alcohol, peroxide and many other things I could write a separate blog about. Toss in a deck of cards or small activity books along with pad of paper and pencils too. Those can go a long way toward mental health when there is no television or your books are ripped to shreds laying in your neighbors lawn.

Keep a bag packed for each member of the family with quick foods, water, change of clothes and first aid too. If your home is destroyed or facing destruction you might not have time to grab what you need to get out. Having bags ready and checking them every three months (as the seasons change) you can ensure they are supplied with the right clothes and replace food so it doesn't get stale or spoil.

I realize as I'm writing there is no way to cover everything I want in one single post. I also won't overwhelm you with going on and on. Which I've already done. If you want to learn more or follow me along on this passion journey of mine then check out my other blog (just getting starting but I will be covering all sorts of topics from preparedness to self reliance and financial independence)

If your interest is piqued about long term food storage being my deepest passion check out Shelf Reliance. I will also be at the Fort Hood Army Wives Expo on September 10 at the Killeen Civic Center if you are in the area and want to see first hand.

CDC is a great resource. Check them out too.