Mom, Prepared

Bug-Out Bags. Go Bags. Get The Heck Outta Dodge Bags. Or, whatever else ya might happen to fancy callin' 'em...








Disclaimer: You'll soon see that Emergency Essentials is one of my favorite 'go-to' resources for all things preparedness. No, I don't work for the company, and I'm not being re-imbursed by them. I just really like 'em a lot.

One way that this "Mom, Prepared" has (sheepishly) not become prepared yet is our 'Go Bags', also known as "Bug-Out Bags". My bestie, one of my kindred spirits, & fellow "Mom, Prepared" is Counter Culture Mama.

She & her husband, in all their awesomeness, already have one giant bag (it's, like, 6 feet long?) of supplies, AND individual bags for themselves & each of their 3 children. I should probably enlist her aid in this, just so I can get it done... even if that aid is only in stayin' on my fanny to get it done :)

In addition to needing to compile those, I also need something that my husband can keep in his truck. His job requires him to be out and about in a very large city, every day, and its always in the back of my mind: "If something major were to happen, and he couldn't get home with the truck, how will he get home to us?" I brazenly admit, I dislike the thought of this very much. But, if it ever is a necessity, we are unprepared for him to have to hoof it home.

Enter the 3 Day Emergency Kit.
Price - $54.95 (they have bigger and smaller kits, also)

This kit has a lotta stuff in it. Their description reads:

"The 3-day emergency kit is a compact emergency kit with a daypack that includes basic emergency items for three days, providing items for shelter, water, food, first aid, warmth, light, communication, and more. The food, water, and other items in this 3-day emergency kit store well in a range of normal temperatures, making it a great automobile kit. The 3-day emergency kit is a great way to start preparing each person of a family, office, school, or workplace unit."

There are some things that I would add to it, like hand sanitizer. The larger kits contain these, but I have that in my stores, so that's an easy addition. But this kit has many of  the essentials that would be required for a 3 day trek home (or a 3 day trek somewhere).

I am seriously considering getting my husband one of these for Christmas. Maybe I should buy each of us one, and say Santa is a prepper, too ;-)

If you are a seasoned Mom, Prepared - you already know this. If you are just beginning your journey, you will quickly learn to adopt a bit of the point of view: "Any port in a storm."

This means that we may have items or brands of items in our stockpiles that we might not 'choose to use' on a regular basis.

This is true especially if you use coupons to grow your stores.

So, whether you are brand new, OR have been at this for some time, please go check your items for Kotex brand tampons.

According to Consumer Reports Health, in an article dated November 11, 2011, "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a recall warning for specific lots of Kotex tampons contaminated with a bacterium that could cause vaginal infections and other health risks."

You can read the full article here.

Please, please.. check your stockpile for any of the products listed in the recall. When removing them, be sure you call Kimberly-Clark for disposal instructions!

"Consumers with the recalled Kotex Natural Balance Security Unscented Tampons should immediately discontinue use of the product and contact Kimberly-Clark's toll-free Consumer Services Division (800-335-6839) to make arrangements for safe disposal of the recalled tampons."

I've had this conversation a few times, now.

"I can't afford to buy food storage."

"Yes," I say. "You can."

I already mentioned the use of coupons, which will only help in your quest. Soon, I will be posting about a recent shopping trip where, using coupons, we purchased several items that were already on sale. That trip, we got lotsa things to add to the stockpile and saved 50% at the register buy doing so. No.. it wasn't a year's worth of food. In fact, half of it wasn't even foodstuffs. But all were needed items, and we saved HALF at checkout. HALF, people! :)

But, I know there are some who haven't gotten that far yet; still others who may never utilize coupons. That is utterly a personal decision, but beyond that, I want to address those who, for whatever reason, feel like they simply can NOT afford to work on their preps.

How can you afford food storage? It's simple.


Spend $5 a week on your food storage/preps.




Now, you can simply add an extra Five Bucks wortha somethin' to your cart each week, or, if you are more disciplined, you can save it each week and buy $20 worth at the end of the month. That part is up to you. But even with this small amount, you most certainly CAN add to your food or other prep storage goals.

And I do mean add, significantly.

With just five bucks, you can buy a bag of rice, and a bag of dried beans. You can buy a few cans of soup. You can buy a few lbs. of salt (Yes! Salt and other seasonings are SOOO important!) You can buy some extra sugar, or honey.

I hope you're beginning to see that, even when money is tight, you *can* add to your stores, and if you are diligent, you will, over time, amass a respectable stock.

What if you don't have an extra $5 to spend?

Here, I will go back to couponing :) 

Because you can easily use enough coupons to save that $5 to then spend on your storage :)

I could certainly compile a list of Five Buck Preps, and, I probably will soon. But for the right now, let me share with you another prepper's list that I found online. It comes from 'AZPrepper' and he posted this list on the forum known as LDS Preppers.

Let me add here that he compiled this list back in 2009; as we all know, prices *have* changed, and mostly not for the benefit of the buyer ;-)  But I still post this list because it's representative of what doing 'A Little At A Time' can do for your food storage.

He wrote:

Blogs & websites, books & T.V. - these are all wonderful, wonderful resources to learn about, & get inspired about, being prepared. The blogosphere has blogs a'plenty... there's myriad websites out there. More and more folks are writing books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the subject. The most surprising, to me, anyway, is that you are seeing more and more of it on television. In the past year, alone, I've seen SEVERAL specials on the prepping lifestyle.

It almost makes ya wonder... is someone *trying* to prepare us for something?

ANYway, another wonderful resource is youtube. I will tell ya.. I've gotten more and sometimes, better info from watching other preppers' videos, than I have practically anywhere else.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to one of my personal favorites.

Her screen name is zappo888.

This woman is a sweet, dear thing. She strongly reminds me of probably *the* sweetest, dearest woman I ever knew. She is so soft-spoken, and just a little self-conscious; however, this woman is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge. She is a long term prepper, and the stuff she knows will just knock your socks off. She is mindful of people's time, so she makes a concerted effort to keep her videos to a scant length - some less than 10 minutes, even. She not only gives 'how-to's', but she will sometimes give a recipe, or share a deal she found at a local dollar store. She is overflowin' with practical advice from her many years of living this lifestyle.

I will mention that she is LDS. But she doesn't push that. She isn't afraid to mention God, tho, so if that's a problem for you... well, I dunno. Her channel is about prepping, and I personally feel that ANYONE could gain a great deal from her sage wisdom.

So, here's the link to her channel. On the right hand side, you'll see her video list. It appears short, but be sure you click 'See More'. You'll find she has a whole, whole lotta videos - 330, as I write. Then spend some time perusing them. I'm 99% sure that you'll be glad you did.

If you do, subscribe to her channel!

Her message to all the Lady Preppers out there:

I'm taking a break from clipping coupons. We had discovered the awesome way in which we could save with couponing, and began doing so with earnest. (Earnest? Ok, maybe not *earnest*). But then, being a one-car family, which hubby requires for work, our couponing efforts came to a screeching halt. His work picked up, then took him out of town for a couple of weeks, and then we just fell off the couponing bandwagon.

And we've felt it at the register!

I've also felt it in our stockpile.

We had so recently begun using coupons, that we didn't really have a whole lotta stuff in said stockpile. I mean, we've got some toothpaste & shampoo, lemme tell ya... but we were lower on the foodstuffs, just because we hadn't been doing it so long.

But now that things have settled down some... AND we've felt the effects at the register of not having coupons... AND we've seen our food stuffs dwindling from use, but not replacement, we are finally jumping back into it.

Just what can you accomplish from couponing?

Have you ever watched the show "Extreme Couponing"?

Now, don't get in a snit, here... I know many, many people who coupon who HATE that show, find it a gross misrepresentation of the fair and normal practice of couponing. I would have to agree on a couple of levels, there. But the fact of the matter is simply this: Once you learn it, and commit to investing the necessary time into it... you will slash your grocery bill by at least 40%. The aforementioned show often highlights, well, extreme cases, with savings that are much higher, usually 90% or even more. Depending on where you live, and your stores' coupon policies, this may or may not be a true reflection of the savings that YOU could net.

As for us, there is not a single store in our city, that we can find, that actually doubles coupons. If you have access to a grocer like that, count your blessings and grab a coupon insert & scissors!! But, if you are like us, without such a store in sight, you can still benefit greatly from the use of strategic couponing. It is not uncommon for us to save between 50% and 70% at checkout.

We are not shelf clearers; nor are we extreme couponers in any fashion. Unless you plan on realistically outfitting your whole neighborhood's pantries with hot sauce, I can't see a single, solitary need to lug 102 bottles of the stuff outta the store. I will always urge someone new to couponing (or even the pros) to use common sense, and fairness in their couponing endeavors. I do know, tho, that some people don't; because of this, couponers & the use of coupons has become somewhat villifed of late.

But that is definitely NO REASON to be wary of couponing.

The simple fact is this: Coupons are like money in your wallet at checkout.

Well.... back to clipping! Have an amazing day :)

Brrr!! It's been chilly here, today, folks. Granted, not as frosty as some of you are right now, but it was plenty cold for me this morning! (Did I really live up north for a year and a half???) It's turned into a nice day out there!

It is naturally that time of year that a whole lot of us are gearing up toward Christmas. Maybe you have your Christmas shopping done already. If you do, GO YOU!

*This* "Mom, Prepared", however, is decidedly UNPREPARED for the encroaching gift-giving season ;-)

Lest you judge me all 'Bah! Humbug!' - I've been a busy Mama. We homeschool, I'm newly pregnant, and my husband's been just as hard-at-work as he can be. We truly just haven't gotten around to it.

I've got a list, tho! Well.. a list of a list, anyway :)

I happen to find my gift-giving plan BRILLIANT! I want to share it with you, because, in case you are at a loss of what to get 'the person who has everything', or just don't have a plan yet.. this one might be one you'll like!

Ready?

GIVE FOOD STORAGE FOR CHRISTMAS!

... or any other prepping supplies!

Now... do let me say, in the sake of full disclosure: I don't know exactly how WELL that's gonna go over ;-)  I am reasonably sure that my mother will roll her eyes. But, I roll mine when I consider her spendthriftness on items she doesn't need, and will seek to get rid of in a year, coupled with her absolute reluctance to buy a simple bag of beans (for goodness sake!). So, that makes us even :)

I also find this a remarkable plan, because being 'Daughter' means that I am anxious that my family be provided for. And yet, I am nowhere NEAR being in a position to fully prepare for them... or even purchase a full month's supply for a single person!

But you know that old adage, "If you can't feed a hundred people, just feed one?" Well, my thoughts on this are along those lines. I may not be able to feed them for a year. But I can feed them for a short time. I can provide SOME kind of food.

And that brings ME peace of mind.

You can really take this in whatever direction you like. Buy a year's supply of freeze dried food for someone... or buy a can that will provide 10-12 meals. Buy a simple bag of rice, dried beans and a container of salt - tuck those into a cute basket and slap a bow on it. Why stick with food? Buy any sort of valuable survival/preparedness item, wrap it up and give THAT as a gift. Use your imagination, and what you know and have learned about what you need to 'be prepared', and doll it up a little to make it a gift.

Have you already stumbled upon this brilliant idea? Will you be giving preparedness type gifts this season? Will this be your first year doing so, or your 10th? Leave a comment!

No, you don't have to be a Mom yet.. or at all! You can be whoever it is that you are - which usually works out best, anyway ;-) I write as Mom, Prepared simply because I am a Mom. But being prepared is something that anyone can do, and is something that everyone, every family, every community *should* do.
   
Why?