Hi, this is my first visit to the forum (and sadly, the first time I’ve giving much thought to prepping for a flu pandemic). I’ve read lots of the thoughtful comments on your forum, and was hoping people might have some basic suggestions for me & my family. We live outside of D.C. in suburban Northern Virginia. Our property does have woods, a storage shed, and we have wood-burning fireplaces. We have a gas stove and gas-heated water. Our basement is sub-terranian, but only part of it is insulated. We have two SUVs & a travel luggage carrier for the top. We have a tent & sleeping bags, camping stove, heavy winter clothes, etc. (used to spend a lot of time outdoors in Maine and Tahoe). We have a 2-year-old child and 2 elderly doggies who are on meds. We’re both heathly young adults. We are good friends with our neighbors, but the adjacent neighborhoods aren’t that great (like a mile or so down the road). Oh! And we’d like to keep our “prep budget” to $1000 or less if possible. Thank you so much, in advance.
Hi, and welcome Newbie in VA. You’ll see in the lefthand column of the page a link titled “Pandemic Preparedness.” I suggest you go there and read the guides on pandemic preparedness as a starting point. Once you’ve read those, you’ll have a better idea of what you need to do and can then search the forum by keyword for specific advice on targeted questions you may have about heat or food storage, for example.
Welcome! did you see this?
http://fluwikie.com/index.php?n=Opinion.ForumTopics#prep
might help you brainstorm what your situation’s priorities are
Get your neighbors preparing too, if possible.
Newbie in VA
I’m moving in with you!
you are so fortunate to have all that great stuff for the home. I’m gonna let the more experienced preppers guide you, as I’m fairly new to this myself, and they are still helping me. If you hang out long enough, you’ll see how interesting, and smart these good folks are. We’re in good hands.
DON’T TELL ANYONE YOU ARE PREPPING!!!
Well, I’m telling my husband. :-) No, it’s not something that I’ll probably go around advertising, though I will probably coordinate with our next-door neighbors who we’re very close with.
Newbie in VA – at 14:26 Hi and welcome!
You have lots of good stuff already. Secure water resources or storage for yourselves & your pets. Secure food for yourselves & your pets — I think people are keeping dogfood in metal trash cans where raccoons can’t get to it & open it.
Ask your vet for 3–6 months worth of meds for your pets.
Do what you can to get 3–6 months of meds for yourselves.
You’re very well prepped in other areas, so long as you can communicate with people by phone, or cb or even if you just have a radio with short wave. So concentrate on areas that are truly essential — water, food, meds — and build that supply up, then you can tweek whatever areas where you still feel you have holes to fill. And don’t forget water to keep your house and outbuildings from burning if you can figure a way to do that, and don’t forget a defensive method for keeping people off your property.
I couldn’t have done what I have for $1000, but many people have prepped on far less. I guess it just depends on your priorities. I’d say start with figuring out how you’d get water, and how you would purify it if you don’t plan to store sufficient amounts.
You have fireplaces - have you thought about a wood burning stove?
Just to demonstrate how quickly money can be spent . . . last week, I bought two cases of granola for $70, a case of canned cheese and one of butter - that was about another $200. $50 will get you 100 cans of tuna. I bought an Aqua Rain water filter for about $200 a few months ago.
Figure out your priorities, and then you can begin to figure out how to allocate your resources. I’ll second that advice about not telling anyone.
I’m in VA too, but the Martinsville area. I’d hate to be near DC - but that’s even on a good day. I’m a country mouse that now lives in a small town, but proximity to cities has been shown to be hazardous to my mental health! :)
Newbie in VA
If I might ask, what prompted you to become interested in the avian bird flu, and how did you come across this sight?
There was a posting on a listserv I belong to (DC Urban Moms) about pandemic flu preparations, and I just followed the link!
Food and any meds you take. And anything else you use on a regular basis (toilet paper, paper towels, soap, toothpaste, tampons, OTC meds, etc.). Make a list of what you use regularly then buy enough of it to last a while. (A lot of people here have aimed for 3 months of supplies. That’s a common benchmark.)
Water: are you on city water or do you have a well? City water might be cut off in a severe pandemic, if the treatment plants shut down. If you have a well, it won’t work in a power outage. You’ll need a supply of water at home (or a power source for a well). One option is to buy large water containers that you can fill from your taps if a pandemic starts.
Warmth: A fireplace insert or a woodstove is much MUCH more efficient than a fireplace alone. You might be able to find one used. You’ll also need a good supply of well-seasoned firewood.
Power: A generator, and a supply of gasoline, is useful but expensive.
If you decide just to work with stored water for your water supply and a fireplace for heat, you’ll still need a way of cooking food. I’m guessing you get your gas for your stove through a city supply. (Or do you have a tank of gas?) Gas supplies, like power, might be cut off. There are various options like camping stoves. Also you can cook pretty well on woodstoves (probably on fireplace inserts as well). Consider this when you’re stocking up on foods. Bags of rice and beans are cheap and easy to store, but they need much more energy to cook than a can of soup.
How much of all this will we need? No one knows. We don’t know how bad a pandemic might be, we don’t know how much it will interrupt the water and power supplies, etc. Around here on the forum you’ll read some speculation that power might be out for long periods. Some speculate there might be roving blackouts, with power companies giving power to a particular area for a certain number of hours every day. In the end, we just don’t know.
Also, this page has a variety of prepardness guides. Woodson’s guide at the top has detailed information about home treatment for a family member who has gotten ill, and it is full of plenty of other useful advice and information as well.
I’ve probably forgot a bunch of stuff. Someone else will think of it. Good luck and welcome to FluWiki.
Welcome Newbie in VA. You will find a lot of valuable information here. I also have a 2yo, plus a 5yo. Since you have a little one, I’ll share some of my extra prep ideas for kids. Stock lots of ibuprofin, tylenol, glycerin suppositories, tylenol suppositories, sore throat suckers, chewable vitamins, cool bandaids, anti-constipation and diahrea meds, cold and cough meds, diaper rash ointment (even 5yo’s get a sore rear with diahrea) pedialite and Isomil for diahrea. Lots of diapers and wipes (I’ve even used pull-ups with sick 5yo). Sam’s Club has large containers of Tang with Vitamin C and Calcium. I’ve installed paper towel dispensers and hand sanitizer in the bathrooms and have trained the kids to use them every time.
I ordered a few N-95 masks for children from the UK - expensive, and not intended for kids under 3, but in an emergency… Also got Mickey Mouse 3M masks for the kids as well as latex gloves (which really come in handy for cleaning up puke).
Made another med run this weekend after 2yo got sick and picked up Johnson’s Vapor baby bath - it works great to help loosen chest and nasal passages. Vick’s baby vapor rub, humidifier filters and distilled water, tri-acting (antihistamine, decongestant, cough) nighttime and daytime medicine.
I’ve tried to stock a lot of healthy snack-type foods like raisins, cheese crackers, oyster crackers, cereal, fruit snacks, graham snacks, etc. Also got gourmet hot chocolate from honeyvillegrain.com and the kids love it. Honeyville also has great prices on dehydrated eggs and foods. I also get my whole wheat flour and 5 gal buckets from them, but definitely get the gamma lids from emergencyessentials.com for the pails.
Get a buddy or two that you can order with and split shipping cost. I do it with a co-worker and a neighbor. We often split cases of dehydrated eggs or milk substitute when none of us whats a whole case.
Feel free to post questions and somebody will likely have an answer.
Lastly, be sure you are all up to date on your vaccinations, tetanus, pneumonia, and flu shots.
Didn’t I tell you we were in good hands? I hadn’t thought of some of that for my 4 year old.
Yes, thank you! I am in good hands. And the list keeps getting longer, and longer!
A couple other things to think about.
I forgot to mention (in case you don’t know it already) that generators are very noisy. If people around you don’t have power, a generator will tell everyone that you do.
Some people have made big investments in generators, solar panels, etc, in case of pandemic (and any of the other natural and manmade problems we have). Others can’t afford that and/or don’t want to go that route. For the price of a generator, you could stock up on a lot of foods that don’t require much cooking time, and get by with a camping stove. You just have to look at your situation and figure out what’s best for you.
As far as food goes, you might stock foods that require different levels of preparation. Some long-cooking things for when there is power, short-cooking things for outages, and some things that can be eaten as is.
And hopefully if/when a pandemic hits (H5N1 or some other), it won’t be as bad as one fears it might be.
Newbie in VA
Welcome to the hive! You have already gotten a lot of advice today, all of it very good. I might add that when putting away food for storage be sure it is things that all in the family will eat. In my case I started with a couple of cans of extra veggies a year ago and my storage has now evolved into canned goods, beans, pasta, rice, mostly the 10 minute variety, and keeps for close to two years, even the brown rice, which is usually short term. Then added MRE’s, Myers seems to have best prices on those, then went to dehydrated and Freezed dried foods, keep a very long time in cool conditions, like Emergency Essentials or Survival acres.
Important thing here or in any area of preparation is to have a primary and then a backup for the important areas, whether food, light, heat and so on. Good luck and think you will find that you will go well over your budget eventually, but remember that you do not have to do this all at once. Have been at it over a year and still not done. Do the most critical things first. Dr Woodson’s guides are wonderful for medical info and meds needed for home care.
The fluwikie is a wonderful resource, I read it every day, learn something new all the time, and pray that I will never see the day all this knowledge has to put to use.
I agree that Dr. Woodson’s guide is the first thing you should read. The second source I used for guiding my food storage is the LDS provident living site. As part of their religion, they are required to store enough food for a year. Their site has some great food calculators, a written inventory list, rotation suggestions, etc. You may even be able to use one of their centers if you live near one. I am not a member of their church, but I think their method of food storage is good advice. The site is http://tinyurl.com/le8vw
Before you go out spending all kinds of money, take time to inventory what you already have (and make sure that older equipment still works), and keep track of what your family consumes during the course of a week or two. You’ll be amazed at how much you rely on eating out, something which won’t be available if TSHTF (oops, sorry, you’re new - that’s if The Sh$$ Hits The Fan!). Then start building your food supplies from there. Stick to basics and nothing fancy. Think about the fact that certain things are easier to cook with limited power, you’ll want some treats, etc. Don’t forget things to help keep your kids busy! Also, vitamins and fiber pills since your diet may be less than optimal.
As you build your supplies up, make sure to keep track of what you have, where you have it, and what the expiration dates are. Rotate things or donate to local food banks as tehy get closer to the exp. dates. Make sure to re-supply what you use. You’ll find that buying in bulk is a good way to go, either through club stores like Costco, or scouting deals at your local stores. I never thought I’d own a Food Saver, but I do now! I bought lots of meats at Costco then re-packaged them with the Food Saver. So much cheaper than just buying one package of chicken breasts at teh store when I needed it. Others have found good deals at places like Aldi, Big Lots, Tracotr and Supply Co. Then, once you feel like your own supplies are in good shape, try to get extras for those in need (if you can swing it). Sadly most people are woefully unpreparred.
Welcome to the group! Laura - mom to 3 and possibly a new puppy (like my life isn’t crazy enough already!)
Newbie in VA
Your are so smart…being prepared for “whatever” is a very good thing.
Water is most improtant. Secure water supply/storage first.
Your family is lucky to have you.
Forgot to add - lots of people have done “practice runs” with turning off all power for say an entire weekend. It’s a great way to learn about what works, what doesn’t etc.
bump
Wow, what a lot of great suggestions. I’m going to start keeping track of what my family eats in a week (we actually don’t eat out all that much, at least for breakfast/dinner because 2 year old + restaurant = stress.) And read Dr. Woodson’s guide. THEN do the shopping. :-)
You may have this already but a cast iron pan-the type with sm legs on the bottom and a lid with a lip that holds coals-would be nice to have since you have a fireplace. You can cook everything with a little practice.
I don’t use our propane stove during the winter, I only cook on the woodstove. It is nice to have an alternate cooking source :-)
Oh, might I add, plenty of toys/games/coloring books that don’t need electricity for your little one.
Newbie in VA One of the first dried foods I would recommend you order is powdered eggs because if the chicken population becomes infected with H5N1 in the near future, “safe” eggs may not be available for a long time. I’ve stocked both powdered “whole” eggs and egg whites. I’ve incorporated them into my everyday baking and they’re great. A #10 can goes a long way and has a long shelf life, even when opened. Hubby and kids like these eggs scrambled, but I think they’re too rubbery. They work fine for french toast though (with a little added cinnamon,nutmeg,or vanilla)
You might also want to try different varieties of dried milk on your toddler now to see which he/she prefers. I’ve also stocked powdered chocolate flavoring and vanilla to make the milk taste better. A co-worker and I have tested a few on our kids. My kids prefer Nido (whole dried milk) which can be found in the Mexican food section of your grocery store and is made by Nestle, but it doesn’t have a very long shelf life. Another one the kids liked was the milk substitute made by Honeyvillegrain.com.
While you’re preparing meals the next few weeks, think of all the ingredients and spices you normally use and consider those you want to stock or may not be available in fresh form.
You might also want to practice making bread, various muffins, and tortillas.
(You learn more)
Start with the basics.
Water, some stored and a way to purify more
You also need a good SOURCE of water. Preferably one that doesn’t require electricity to obtain.
Then start on food. The basics. Rice, corn, beans, oils, flavorings This will keep you alive.
Then go onto adding a little extra canned food every time you shop for variety.
You also need some alternative fuels and cooking methods.
Since you’re in a cold climate, you’ll also need a few cords of wood for your woodburning fireplaces. Stove inserts are better.
As you can see the basics are WELL over $1000 for a family of 3
But don’t let that get to you.
Get started with the basics NOW. TODAY.
Newbie - You have a good foundation to work from. I would start with the woods on your property. Make sure you have plenty of wood for heat. Look though those woods of yours and get yourself a wood pile cut and drying. Hopefully you already have one but unless you have about double what you think you would normally need you probably don’t have enough. Start with the old trees that are not looking healthy or are already dead. As for your $1000 budget at least you have that much to work with. Use it to get yourself some good basic foods, water, multi-vitamins and meds. I would start with trying for three months of supplies and the work from there. I would also suggest having a yard sale to get rid of excess things that might be taking up space in your home. Use the money from that to increase your preps budget.
Test and practice your alternatives for cooking, heat, and water for warm, cool, cold and freezing temperatures.
Prepare your “sick room” inventory.
Source what you don’t want to buy until later e.g. we have sourced 55 gallon barrels of kerosene but have stocked only enough to get us through a few weeks.
Prepare for different levels or scenarios that may happen. We can’t know exactly what a pandemic is going to look like where we live.
You are probably getting overloaded with info so I’ll stop here.
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