View Full Version : Emergency Preparedness Kits Challenge
Hi Everybody,
All the natural disasters recently are reminding me that I really need to set up emergency preparedness kits in my house - one inside for "sheltering in place," one outside, I guess, for earthquakes (I live in LA!). I've been procrastinating on it forever.
I'd like to set a goal of setting up some basic kits by the end of September.
Anybody else want to join in for a little bit of peer pressure? We can report on our progress here.
Elizabeth
iris lilies
9-10-17, 12:42pm
This is a good chalkange. But--I wont participate on this one, yet. We have to finish our trust/ will process. After that, I will put together a bug out bag with all pertinent documents.
TooSweetForMe
9-10-17, 8:34pm
Does it count if you already have one ready?;)
Sure, Too Sweet for Me, congrats on completing the challenge! :)
https://i.imgur.com/PdTzOHd.jpg
Also, an older take on the day pack setup I commonly use around here:
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?7156-Walking-in-the-woods-don-t-die
The larger version I pack for extended 3-day S&R deployments has a bit more stuff, but I still try to keep it under 20 pounds (not including water, but including food), and it has quite a bit more medical and communications equipment in it, as I'm usually expecting to find someone broken.
mschrisgo2
9-10-17, 11:00pm
Oh. My. Bae, I don't even know the names of some of those things, much less how/what they are used for!
I will join the challenge. Back in the days when I wore "professional dress" to work, I had jeans, tee and sweat shirts, sneakers and sox in my car, along with 2 gallons of water; a hammer, 4-way screwdriver, gas wrench, box cutter, rope, can opener; and about 10 cans of ready to eat foods, and a box of protein bars. Slowly over the years, things got taken out. Now I'm lucky if I have water!
I did put all important docs on a thumb drive last winter. I have a bag packed for the dogs, just have to add water and food. But sadly, nothing else ready to go, though I do have my list from last winters evacuation ahead of possible flooding...
I am in for this challenge!
Once assembled, it's a good idea to go through your gear on a regular basis to make sure batteries are still good, medications haven't expired, or items gone "missing" from people borrowing something handy "just for a moment".
After Sandy I vowed to get an emergency radio, and never did. Thanks for the reminder! My BIL had a radio that served the purpose and it was very, very helpful.
Some of my neighbors had generators, and I was a tad envious, but OTOH, it was kind of nice doing without power, at least for the short term. If I or DH had a medical condition that depended upon power, I would definitely put that high on my list, but we don't.
What are y'all putting in your kits? (bae, thanks for the link--great resource for this challenge.)
TooSweetForMe
9-11-17, 8:19pm
Sure, Too Sweet for Me, congrats on completing the challenge! :)
With where we live, and my mom having various medical issues, I have my personal "go bag" which has my medicines and such in it. Started using this after my mom was hospitalized with an aneurysm and I wasn't expecting it, so when we went to ER, I just had my one day of medicine in it. She got transferred and I had no extra insulin or medications with me until the next night when I got home. We also have an emergency preparedness kit with batteries, am-fm radio, ready to eat foods, clothes, important papers in ziploc bags along with copies of prescriptions and my POA of my mom, extra disposable undies for her, extra toilet paper and sanitary supplies. Next container has lawn and leaf bags, first aid kit, and extra diabetes supplies for us both.
Part of the reason I got inspired to do this is because a friend of mine wrote this article about emergency supplies:
http://thesweethome.com/reviews/emergency-preparedness/
It's so thorough it's overwhelming. But this weekend, I ordered a few basics from Amazon: a container to store water, some Cliff bars, face masks, the recommended first-aid kit, the recommended radio.
It was expensive, but I figured these are supplies I need to have in my home, and I can "stock up" a little at a time.
Hoping to do some organizing of my kits (outside, inside, car) this weekend.
Emergency radio...
I do this in a bit of an overkill fashion. Down in the Batcave, I have a duplicate of our County's emergency communications facility. We have a County installation at the main Emergency Management site, the major fire station on each island, and the Sheriff's Dispatch Center. And on my island, because of the geology, several of the expected Bad Events will partition the island, so I have a copy (and then some) on my half of the island, and another fellow has a copy on the other side.
I also have setups so I can pack out and establish communications in the field. Which we've used several times already in real world emergencies.
https://i.imgur.com/wWT2sAn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Rnl8zUR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/CefXaw0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/22tyi0f.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/M052EK0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2qZ850W.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3r0xSBN.jpg
Ha, the telegraph key is a nice touch.
Ha, the telegraph key is a nice touch.
Sometimes it's handier than a charged smartphone.
Hmm.. I picture a false bookcase behind which is your secret Island Communications Control Central.
But seriously, since I'm considering moving to an island myself (Lake Champlain islands are on our short list), are there specific emergency preparations I should be aware of? Where we're considering a move, a trip to a hospital would be about 30 minutes away. If we are considering moving there, are there questions I should ask our realtor that are specific to potential emergency situations?
We have in our garage, several backpacks - all ready for a quick departure - a dam breaks, earthquake, chemical spill on the freeway, etc. grab and go!
Now we probably haven't looked in those backpacks for 30 years. I am sure at least one has diapers in it - youngest is 21yrs! I should take pictures when we open them up! Hmmm maybe we should open them up and update them...! :|(
Greg, hold on to the diapers! Might need them...
I live in Florida, land of the hurricane. Emergency prep is a way of life for me. Just coming out the other side of Irma. We lost power and lots of fence blew down. I am very aware of how fortunate we are!
BAE, my son has an area that looks much like your room...however, a majority of his emergency communication this weekend took place via smartphone but he did bring it all along to our house when he bugged out in case.
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