Emergency & Long-Term Preparedness

[Clary]

?McDougall food, water, heat source, and storm supplies in place and ready to use if we have to hunker down??

“As the storm began its trek, it brought a bit of everything: ice, sleet and snow — even tornadoes were possible. School districts, universities and legislatures closed; airlines canceled thousands of flights; and residents rushed to gather supplies….Cities including St. Louis, Kansas City and Milwaukee could be hardest hit, with expected midweek snowfalls of up to 2 feet and drifts piled 5 to 10 feet. Even hardy Chicago could be in for its third-worst blizzard since record-keeping began anticipating they might have to dig out or hunker down.”

“At Edele and Mertz Hardware just a few blocks from the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, customers lined up by 7 a.m. Monday waiting for the store to open. Snow shovels, ice melt and salt were all big sellers.”
This entire article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41365053/ns ... ?GT1=43001

I sometimes wonder why people wait until the emergency is imminent to rush out to try to prepare?

[somnolent]

I sometimes wonder why people wait until the emergency is imminent to rush out to try to prepare?

Maybe they are short of money or extra space so they feel that they should spend their money/space on things that they *know* will be useful rather than something that may or may not happen in the future. Or maybe they just don't think about it because it is an unpleasant thought.

[Ron 43]

"It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark!"

Good info.
But it also says, "Do not worry about tomorrow because today has enough worries of it's own".

[ncyg46]

"It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark!"

Good info.
But it also says, "Do not worry about tomorrow because today has enough worries of it's own".

I thought of this topic when watching the news last night on the weather conditions. Got used to hurricanes so even here, and with the truck camper we could be self contained even for power as long as the sun came back out! Also have a generator. Ask me in another two weeks if we survive two weeks with a dog in a short bed truck camper with dehydrated veggies!!
I would say I have enough food in the rv and storage shed to get along for quite a while. Power for our outside freezer would be a problem, but we kept three different homes in Florida and us from losing freezer and refrigerator food for three days until we ran out of gas and nobody could buy any! The only thing we wouldn't have is fresh produce.

[Clary]

Blizzard takes aim at Chicago; outages feared across Midwest. 100 million could be impacted by 2,100-mile-wide reach; 6,000 flights canceled... ENTIRE ARTICLE:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41365053/ns ... ?GT1=43001
I hope all our McDougallers are safe and warm and well-fed!

[ncyg46]

i do also....gonna learn to cook dehydrated foods from Harmony House for two weeks if we survive that long in the truck!!! I can't believe some of the photos on FB of the stores sold out of all the bread, meat, eggs and milk...shelves bare! Seems we don't have that problem!

[Clary]

I thought of this topic when watching the news last night on the weather conditions. Got used to hurricanes so even here, and with the truck camper we could be self contained even for power as long as the sun came back out! Also have a generator. Ask me in another two weeks if we survive two weeks with a dog in a short bed truck camper with dehydrated veggies!!

I would say I have enough food in the rv and storage shed to get along for quite a while. Power for our outside freezer would be a problem, but we kept three different homes in Florida and us from losing freezer and refrigerator food for three days until we ran out of gas and nobody could buy any! The only thing we wouldn't have is fresh produce.

Sounds like you are in good shape, Nancy. Be sure to give us a doggy update in a couple weeks!

[Clary]

Nancy, looks like we were both posting at the same time.

[ncyg46]

lol...not sure about the food. Bringing celery and carrots for produce till we get out for anything, gave away all the other stuff today. Never tried the stuff from Harmony House before but I got the small crockpot and 12 soup mixes so I guess I will eat that! Oh and the 28 bags of samples and 1 big container of garbanzo beans! Love those!

[Nettie]

Sounds like you are in good shape, Nancy. Be sure to give us a doggy update in a couple weeks!

Clary, I have a question for you - since you're our resident preparedness expert.

What do you think of the British Berkefeld gravity water filters? I was all set to get one on the recommendation of Sassy Knutson, the Vegan Coach, but when I looked at some of the reviews at Amazon, I'm not sure. (The main objection at Amazon from a very few reviewers was that the company's claims for purity were not truly verified.)

I'm really tired of lugging gallons of reverse osmosis water home from Earth Fare every week. I have well water, which I've had tested, and it seems to be OK, and I recently had my old copper piping replaced, but I'm still a little leery of unpurified water.

Just wondering if you had any experience or knowledge about this. The neat thing about the Berkefeld is no electricity or special equipment (other than filters) required.

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

Nettie

[bob2200]

What do you think of the British Berkefeld gravity water filters?

The popular Swiss brand, Katadyn, makes gravity water filters, suitable for a whole family or more, but they are very expensive. They are in wide use and have been around for years.

I don't see anything wrong with copper pipes. I use a Polar (from Canada) water distiller for drinking water, becasue my water supply up North comes out of the Potomac River. Down here in Florida, it comes from the Everglades, so maybe some pesticide run-off from sugarcane plantations but not much else.

[Clary]

Clary, I have a question for you...
-What do you think of the British Berkefeld gravity water filters?.... Just wondering if you had any experience or knowledge about this. Thanks for any insight you can offer.
Nettie

I don't have any experience or knowledge about this water filter. I did a search to see what it looked like, thinking it might be something similar to a gravity water filter one of my daughters used for a short time. It looks a lot like the one she had. I sent her an email and a link to look at this brand, and asked her if it is the same as the one her Father-in-Law gave their family and that she used for awhile. --and asked why she stopped using it. I If I hear anything back, I'll let you know.
Good luck in your research.

[Clary]

Hello,
I am getting concerned about the need for emergency preparedness - I have been reading some worrying things about the financial crisis and currency collapse and that they may lead to shortages of food/essential supplies. I would like to start preparing. Are there any good books on what should be done?

Sel--
I thought of your post here when I received an article from a Latter-Day-Saint friend of mine today. --a preparedness plan with suggestions for each day in the month of February, for those who want to get started NOW. Every suggestion may not apply to a particular person's goals, or family size, etc., but the article contains lots of really good "getting-started" ideas :

"Preparing a Day at a Time"
http://ldsmag.com/index.php?option=com_ ... =1&id=7431

[greentea]

Sounds like you are in good shape, Nancy. Be sure to give us a doggy update in a couple weeks!

Clary, I have a question for you - since you're our resident preparedness expert.

What do you think of the British Berkefeld gravity water filters? I was all set to get one on the recommendation of Sassy Knutson, the Vegan Coach, but when I looked at some of the reviews at Amazon, I'm not sure. (The main objection at Amazon from a very few reviewers was that the company's claims for purity were not truly verified.)

We have one and love it, the water tastes so good! We have the white filters but are thinking of getting the black filters which are supposed to filter out even more. My bf did a lot research before choosing this model, and we are very pleased. The fact that you don't need any electricity to run it is a bonus, the filters can be cleaned with a toothbrush or sandpaper, and only needs to be done once every 6 months or so. I can't vouch for the purity of the filtered water, but so far we haven't gotten sick from any water borne bugs . Actually, we live in the city and water from the tap is perfecty fine, at times, it just tastes like garbage. We got the Birky for emergency preparedness, but use all the time. We fill it about twice a day.

[Nettie]

Hello,
I am getting concerned about the need for emergency preparedness - I have been reading some worrying things about the financial crisis and currency collapse and that they may lead to shortages of food/essential supplies. I would like to start preparing. Are there any good books on what should be done?

Sel--
I thought of your post here when I received an article from a Latter-Day-Saint friend of mine today. --a preparedness plan with suggestions for each day in the month of February, for those who want to get started NOW. Every suggestion may not apply to a particular person's goals, or family size, etc., but the article contains lots of really good "getting-started" ideas :

"Preparing a Day at a Time"
http://ldsmag.com/index.php?option=com_ ... =1&id=7431

Thanks for this, Clary. We started preparing in a big way 12 years ago right before the big Y2K non-event.

I have some buckets and cans of stuff, but after all these years I don't know what's in them. I'll have to go down to the basement to inventory them. However, I eat so differently now, I feel like I need to stock up on beans, grains and greens. Those cans of meat-based meals just won't work any more.

Nettie