Emergency Preparedness Supply List

Warning: this list is going to be overwhelming. Bear with me. One of my blog followers has requested that I post an emergency preparedness supply list of things that I feel a person should have on hand in the event of an emergency and just for overall preparedness. This is something I’m going to attempt in greater detail, focusing on one thing at a time, in future posts. But here is a basic list of things that I feel everyone should have on hand.

Each person in the family should have a 72-hour Kit. I addressed this in great detail in my previous blog post. See my post from May 10th 2011 titled Emergency Preparedness Is More than Just Flashlights. Basically, you can run all over town buying individual items and spend days gathering everything you need, or you can order them ready-made. Here is a list of my favorites:

Emergency Essentials – 3 Day Emergency Kit – Item #IN K7 B400 - $54.95 Emergency Essentials – Trekker II Emergency Kit (two-person) – Item #IN K7 M520
Ready America 70385 Grab ‘N Go Deluxe Four Person Backpack (on Amazon) $98.10 (best deal for a family)

Three months supply of regularly-used items. Make a list of all of your family’s favorite meals, including cereals, pastas, main dishes, snacks, etc. and figure out approximate quantities needed for a three-month supply. This is going to be personal based on your own family. Go to your favorite grocery store and make an investment in your family’s stability. Warning: This will take a few hundred dollars! Think about how quickly the shelves at your favorite grocery store will be completely empty if there is some emergency that prevents trucks to get supplies there! Less than 24 hours! Every time you go to the store, rotate this supply and keep that three months worth always on hand. Also, remember personal supplies like toilet paper, diapers, sanitary supplies, important medications, etc.

Year supply of basics. If systems broke down completely, you need something that can sustain you long-term. You can spend a lot of time buying in bulk and canning, and canning, and canning, and canning. Or you can purchase the basics in one big package. Time is currency for me. Investing in a year supply of pre-packaged food is far more economical in my life than trying to spend days on end buying in bulk and processing it myself. I’m not saving money by doing it myself if processing my own food takes me away from the other work I need to be doing. Besides, the savings probably only amount to pennies on the dollar anyway. I’ve done a lot of research into ways to buy a good year supply of the basics and found that Emergency Essentials has a complete set of basics for a discounted price because you’re buying them all together. It’s a discount of $100 compared to buying each item individually. Note: all figures here are for ONE person. Multiply these based on the number of people in your household.

The contents of Emergency Essentials' "Year Supply of Basics" includes the following:
Hard White Wheat SuperPail (3) item #IN FS P380
Hard Red Wheat SuperPail (1) item #IN FS P100
White Rice SuperPail (2) item #IN FS P230
Quick Oats SuperPail (1) item #IN FS P180
Honey 5-Gallon Bucket (1) item #IN FS H100
Black Beans (1) item #IN FS G124
Kidney Beans (1) item #IN FS G123
Lentils (1) item #IN FS G220
Pinto Beans (2) item #IN FS G105
Refried Beans (1) item #IN FS G102
Small Red Beans (2) item #IN FS G110
Small White Beans (2) item #IN FS G115
Soybeans (1) item #IN FS G120
Split Green Peas (1) item #IN FS V180
Yellow Popcorn (1) item #IN FS G185
Iodized Salt (1) item #IN FS C120
Shortening Powder (3) item #IN FS D145
Instant Nonfat Milk (6) item #IN FE M700
Garden Seeds (1) item #IN FG S200

Individual Component Pricing: $899.29
Complete Package: $799.95 item #IN FS Y310

Note: If you’re ordering wheat, you’ll need a wheat grinder that does not require electricity. Here are a couple to consider:
Emergency Essential Hand Grain Mill, item #3C1 Fp M100
Victorio VKP1012 Hand Operated Grain Mill on Amazon

To complete your year supply of food, consider adding the following:
Case of six #10 cans of white flour, item #IN FS G205
Case of six #10 cans of sugar, item #IN FS C130
Yeast, SAF-instant (foil pack), item #IN FP Y110
Baking Powder #10 can, item #IN FS C200
Baking Soda #10 can, item #IN FS C210

Emergency Essentials also has a host of freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, meats, complete meals, and deserts as well as flours, sugars, cereals, and every other emergency supply you can think of. I have not found another company that has anywhere close to the selection of Emergency Essentials, or lower prices.

A couple of books I recommend:
Emergency Essentials’ Tips for Preparedness, item #IN EB E100
Cookin’ with Home Storage, item #IN EB F065

I hope this helps you get started. I warned you that this was going to be overwhelming. In future posts I’ll be addressing some of these categories in greater detail and breaking it down to make it a little easier. If you do nothing else TODAY buy each member of your family a 72-hour kit!

Free Food Storage Calculator

Have you ever wondered how much, and what kinds of foods you should store as part of your food storage? Emergency Essentials offers this really neat food storage calculator. It asks you to count what you already have in your pantry, customize what you want to store and calculate how much you need to buy to get your one-year supply of food on your shelves. Check it out and let me know what you think! -Julie

Check out the free food storage calculator at FoodStorageAnalyzer.com

Emergency Preparedness Is More Than Just Flashlights

I sat up late the other night watching the storms. No, not out my windows, on the radar screen on the computer! Boy how things have changed. We used to have to wait for the weather man to tell us what was going to happen. Now we can watch it happen. I kept thinking things like “take cover Omaha!” and “Des Moines, it’s after you next!” Seriously, living in Michigan, why do I care? I’m not really sure, I just love weather. With weather-related and other emergencies, we need to be prepared. Prepared how?

Flashlights? Batteries? A generator? What else? In our family we have emergency kits with enough provisions to last 72 hours. Yes, there are flashlights but we also have food, water, a change of clothing, a copy of every important paper that we may need (driver’s licenses, birth certificates, insurance papers, wills, credit card/bank information, etc.), cash (about $100 and yes it has to be actual cash not a credit/debit card although that’s a good idea as well), a pocket knife, a first aid kit, personal toiletries, plastic sheeting, duct tape, a can opener, three days supply of any (very) important prescription medications, bug repellant, rain ponchos, etc. You get the picture. All of this has to be in a portable container, such as a backpack, so that it can be grabbed in a hurry.

For example, how would the disaster of hurricane Katrina have been handled differently if every person had taken along a 72-hour kit? What about the flooding, tornados, eathquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions? What about train derailments, chemical leaks, gas explosions, fires, or anything else that drives you from your home with seconds to evacuate. It seems like a day doesn't go by without us hearing about some disaster. Often, it's impossible to grab anything as you run out the door, leaving every important thing behind. These little bags of provisions can make a huge difference in an emergency. I hope we never need them, but they are there if we do. We even practice emergency drills just like we do fire escape plans. Each child his or her own bag and they know how to use it! –Julie

For more advanced emergency supplies, try these:
Quakehold! 70280 Grab-'N-Go Emergency Kit, 2-Person, 3-Day Backpack
Deluxe Emergency Kit-4 Person Emergency Zone Brand Disaster Survival Kit, 72 Hour Kit