So many people ask me why I am prepping for the end of the
world. Well, I’m not. And why would I? No, I am prepping for the hard stuff; actual
disasters in real life. Disasters can be
natural or man-made, large or small and last hours to months or years. I am
neither a hoarder nor do I think the government is out to get me. I have, however been subject to several long
term electrical outages, home floods, damaging summer and winter storms and
major health crises. While I don’t want
to experience civil unrest, I have been witness to it.
Here are
some of the things I recommend. Keep
several gallon jugs of drinking water in a convenient location in your
home. I have made a “storm room” in my
basement where I can relax in a comfortable chair and read a book if a tornado
is trying to take the roof off my home.
I change out my water every six months to ensure that it is clean and
fresh.
I keep a
small pantry with about six to eight months of food. I have canned foods that I buy at the grocery
store. I use these regularly and restock
to keep them from expiring. There are
MREs selected specifically for what I would eat. If you hate the food, don’t stock it. Under the stress of a disaster your appetite
may be compromised and you won’t eat stuff you don’t like. I also have long term storage items such as
Wise Foods in sealed buckets. These
contain packages of tasty casserole style meals that require only the addition
of hot water.
Then
there are my Aladdin Lamps purchased from Lehman’s Hardware in Kidron,
Ohio. They run on odorless fuel and
provide not only bright white light, but can effectively heat a room. Alongside the lamps are LED flashlights and
spare batteries. My other backups are
GOAL ZERO solar chargers and lights. And, finally, candles and matches.
Whether
I must shelter in place or evacuate, I have a 72 hour emergency kit, better
known as a Bug-Out Bag (BOB). This is a
lightweight, durable Maxpedition backpack that contains items such as 550
paracord, energy bars, water filter straw, fire starter, knife, multi-tool, matches,
solar-turbo weather radio, flashlight with extra batteries, first aid and
hygiene items, rain poncho, Mylar blanket, nitrile gloves and N95 face mask,
canteen, copies of ID and important personal papers and contacts, zip-lock
bags, duct tape, extra socks and underclothes, cash in small change and
bills. These are but a few of the
important items. Your pack should weigh
less than 25 pounds or only ¼ of your weight.
Keep in
mind that in a medium to large scale disaster, neither the police, fire, nor
rescue crews will be readily available to aid you. Your local agencies may be stretched to the
limit of their resources. Larger
government agencies such as FEMA are generally not immediately available. I do not think it wise to rely solely on
government agencies to be there when disaster strikes. Your own preparations may save your life.
“Prepping”
is not a new concept. Our grandparents
planted gardens, hunted and canned their produce, stocking up for the lean months
ahead. They made their own butter, soap,
clothes and quilts. They made do with
their possessions and fixed what was broken.
Things were re-purposed or passed on to others to continue using. They did not dispose of something because it
was old. They did not have all manner of
electrical appliances. They had storm
cellars, root cellars and saved their meager earnings “for a rainy day.” That lifestyle still makes sense today. Our modern wantonly wasteful and increasingly
dependent lifestyle cannot last.
“Prepping” will go on.
Donna Johnston
Ann Arbor Arms
Emergency Preparedness Instructor
Join our Emergency Preparedness Class Wednesday March 18th, 5-6:30pm, Cost: $25,Call us at (734) 531-6650 to save a seat!
Photo Courtesy of Ben Weatherston Photography
