Any and all feedback is much appreciated.
Okay, in a nutshell here are the “core” items what we have for our family of 4 +1 dog:
6 months worth of canned & freeze dried food Seeds for planting a garden if necessary 145 gallons worth of water storage (which we plan to increase) Several water filters and replacement parts Water purification tablets 2 Good sized first aid kits Midland Walkie-Talkies Severeal Portable radios - one with Short Wave 2 NOAA weather station radios Brunton solar mat to recharge batteries, laptop, kids’ DVD player Assortment of regular and rechargable batteries 4 battery powered lanterns 6 gallons bleach Assorted cleaning supplies Lots and lots of toilet paper, Kleenex Lots of toothpaste, soap, floss, extra toothbrushes Portable solar shower Tent if needed for inside house for SIP Tarps Duct tape Assorted tools, nails, etc. Snares Mouse traps Bug spray, rat poison, etc. N95 & N100 masks, latex gloves, disposable goggles, bunny suits, etc. if breaking SIP 2 Jetboil cooking systems (with 6 cannisters - we need to up this) 8 new big buckets with lids Garbage bags Books, puzzles, games
As I said this is the core stuff. We live in a big, freezin’ cold city in the winter in the midwest and probably should lay in extra firewood for cooking (not for heating as the fireplace seems to draw as much heat out of the house as it produces). Should we purchase a “little buddy” heater and a mess of propane tanks for heat? If so, are they safe to store and for how long?
Thanks a bunch everyone for your feedback!
Sorry for the formatting. I thought it would list things in a column. Now taht I see it, I realize I should have used comas. : )
The only thing that jumps out to me is the quantity of bleach. If you are going to use it to purify water, clean up possible infected areas and clean clothes, disinfect shoes, spray on surfaces, you might want more.
At this point I only have a couple of gallons since it has a shelf life of about 6 months then starts losing it’s potency. Gettin nervous and may pick up some more and some lysol spray.
Plus lots and lots of over the counter meds, and try to get extra rx if you have any.
Check the lists in the threads for a complete checklist. They are very complete.
Not seeing any grains — rice, barley, flour. Can’t tell from your list whether you have canned meats, peanut butter. It would be good to now go out and get extras of the foods your family eats regularly. It can be quite a shock to go immediately into freeze dried or canned, if they are used to fresh.
Check out Kathy in FL great recipes for ideas of things to fill in.
NJ Jeeper – at 16:08
Thanks, I didn’t know the bleach loses its potency. Will have to get more and rotate out more often.
MAinVA – at 16:08
Thanks as well. Are you suggesting grains for making bread?
Sounds good so far, would add tamiflu,and other meds……bicycles, boat for travel, guns for protection, fishing supplies , , lots of fleece clothing .blankets., lighters, clothes line,, manual washer machine.portable toilet if no septic tank.dog food.backup cooking system.
jt – at 16:14
Hi JT. I forgot to mention the dog food. All of the other suggestions are very, very helpful. Thank you.
Nice list! Wish mine looked like that. :-)
Re bleach, granular calcium hypochlorite (~70% available chlorine without additives) can be combined with water to make bleach. It’s a hazardous substance to work with (inhale and you go to the hospital — except during a pandemic, of course). It’s used to purify swimming pool water, sold as ‘Pool Shock’ and similar names.
Also, you can get a fireplace insert that keeps the heat from going up the chimney, but then it’s not as easy to cook in there. http://tinyurl.com/lbyxe
I would suggest you go to a swimming pool supply store and buy granular chlorine..This is from the EPA. http://tinyurl.com/pf6re
You can use granular calcium hypochlorite to disinfect water. Add and dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (approximately Ľ ounce) for each two gallons of water, or 5 milliliters (approximately 7 grams) per 7.5 liters of water. The mixture will produce a stock chlorine solution of approximately 500 milligrams per liter, since the calcium hypochlorite has available chlorine equal to 70 percent of its weight. To disinfect water, add the chlorine solution in the ratio of one part of chlorine solution to each 100 parts of water to be treated. This is roughly equal to adding 1 pint (16 ounces) of stock chlorine to each 12.5 gallons of water or (approximately ˝ liter to 50 liters of water) to be disinfected. To remove any objectionable chlorine odor, aerate the disinfected water by pouring it back and forth from one clean container to another.
I would also suggest having powdered or cubed beef broth, powdered gatorade, etc. in case someone should become ill.
Lots of matches, lighters, charcoal briquettes, starter fluid, etc.
Fire extinguisher
Vitamins…you may consider buying some crystalline form of Vitamin C as it has an indefinite shelf life.
A comprehensive first aid kit and a really good first aid book.
Hard candies, tootsie pops, etc. if you have kids.
Baby wipes
Feminine products, pregnancy prevention items.
Sewing items
Hobby items
A large library of books on everything!
Sustenance of the soul may be as important as sustenance for the body. :) And I don’t necessarily mean this in a religious way, but anything that brings you comfort or comfort to those around you. One of the things in my “prep” items are journals for each member of the family to keep an account to their lives during “the” pandemic. I also have an idea of each of us writing a book within say a month, that we can all pass around and read amongst the family. Keeping the mind active and alive will be important too. :)
Do you have what you need for personal protection?
Great list so far.
I’ve found the prep lists written by Will Stewart, Owls’s Nest, and Rose to be extremely helpful. http://tinyurl.com/e7udf
With regard to backup heat, I originally went with propane heaters (Boston, MA) but now think that kerosene would be better (now have both). The propane heaters were the Coleman BlackCat and SportCat. I have the little one pound propane bottles as well as hose adapters to connect them to the larger 20 pound BBQ grill tanks. Check your local fire department’s website about propane storage, Boston allows you to store 47 or 48 pounds (IIRC) of propane without a permit (basically 2 grill tanks and a few 1 pound bottles).
For a kerosene heater, I went with a Corona 23-DK (about 22,300 BTU). This site has GREAT information on kerosene heaters, for anything else bring along some salt. http://tinyurl.com/jyj26
was hydrogen peroxide on your list? To remove chlorinated taste from bleached water? And how about an emergency dental kit? Are eye meds in your kit? E-myc ung for infection, saline for rinsing, liquid tears for lubrication?
All great stuff everybody! Thanks.
are we there yet……….something for sparin……tooth ache……vitimins ……..fire extinguisher…….thermomoter for each family member…..charcoal……hand cleaner…..barter idems,,,,beer cigs, silver coins……………..clean paper money, 5s 10s 20s……….manuel can opener…gas sifiner…..gas stabolizer……..plastic sheet,,,urinal…bedpan……..Depends…………something to treat lice…….Deet…….
Dan in MA – at 16:49 Great list so far. I’ve found the prep lists written by Will Stewart, Owls’s Nest, and Rose to be extremely helpful. http://tinyurl.com/e7udf
Thanks Dan!
I’d make certain that you have CASH and that you have instructions for your equipment written out in big print (easy to read with a flashlight) and laminated & explained in such a way that even the dog could operate the equipment!
Rose
There was a thread about hardening your house, 2×4′s across a door using bike hooks, plywood and or hardware cloth over windows, keeping in mind a possible need to exit through them in case of fire, blackout curtains so noone knows you’re functional.
Merck Manual 2nd Home Edition http://tinyurl.com/zq6yp (probably get it cheaper at Border’s)
If you can afford a fireplace insert and are assured your wood will not be pilfered, it has given us such peace of mind since we got ours. We did not do it for pandemic,although obvious benefit there. We did it to avoid out of control oil prices. For the cost of what we would have paid for oil alone, we now have a beautiful fireplace insert and four cords of seasoned wood to get through this winter. We have extra green wood seasoning for next winter at a cost of less than $1,000 that will be here pandemic or no pandemic—and that’s it. Next year all we’ll have to shell out is to get the chimney cleaned. As for cooking in it, I could easily do Dutch oven cooking in my insert after building a good bed of coals and letting the wood burn down a bit. All benefits aside, as I said, this was not a pandemic prep item for us. It was a long-term alternative energy investment that will also help us during pandemic.
what you are missing
You say you have lots of TP. Do you have lots of water to flush the toilet? People talk about having water (and things to treat it) to drink and cook with, but be sure you have enough to flush with. Having tried to go with little water for in a test run- it is the flushing you miss more than the drinking.
Lisa at 16:51, Why add H2O2 to clorinated water when just letting it sit for 24 hours in an open container will dissipate the chlorine. Less of a chlorine taste and no other chemicals (BTW hydogen peroxide has an abundance of free radicals so I never use the stuff) to add to the water.
Cooking oil? White vinegar - great for disinfecting and along with baking soda, cleans just about everything.
Razors and blades
MATCHES!
Look for a fireplace insert to help conserve the heat - and one wide enough on the top to boil water.
Someone already mentioned it, but you didn’t list any medications. Make sure you have basic flu medications, aspirin, ibuprophen, Immodium, anti-biotic ointment, anti-histimines, Pepcid, Pepto, Pedialyte or other oral rehydration salts, etc. Also make sure you’ve got canine meds personalized for your dog’s needs: flea medication such as Revolution or Advantage, some broad spectrum anti-biotics (easily purchased online), etc. And, yes, get a dental kit that includes a tube of temporary filling.
Check all the the threads on “Preps you Might Forget” There are several but it’s worth going through them. There are lots of little things you’d never think of!
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