Emergency Preparedness and How To Get Started

Emergencies can come in many forms: earthquakes, civil unrest, wildfires, loss of employment, inflation, and other disruption to your everyday life. 

Preparing for emergencies can feel overwhelming, and honestly, it is. Just like any big undertaking that lays ahead of you, break it into smaller, manageable pieces and work on it a little at a time. 

Whether you are brand new at emergency preparedness or need to go through the supplies you collected 20 years ago, now is the time to get it done.

Checklists are handy for big tasks and tracking progress, so grab some paper and pen and let’s get to work!

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So, what are our goals? 

1. Acquire one year of food storage
2. Store a minimum of two weeks’ worth of water for every family member
3. Educate ourselves on long-term food and water usage
4. Obtain extra medical supplies and first-aid knowledge 
5. Secure supplies for extended power outages 
6. Learn how to cook without power

FIRST GOAL – Acquire one year of food storage

Every household should have a basic supply of extra food and water. Your food storage should consist of long-term (one year) and short-term (three months) storage.

Step 1. Start with short-term food storage.

Short-term food storage is a three-month supply of food to feed your family. Think of what you would need on hand if you could not to go to the grocery store for three months. 

A word of caution. Only store what you eat. If your family does not eat tuna, don’t buy tuna. It sounds pretty simple, but some may get into the mindset of “if we were starving, we would eat it.” 

The golden rule of food storage is rotate, rotate, rotate. Otherwise, you will waste your hard-earned money and resources throwing out expired food. 

Be careful about going into debt. You don’t need to buy three extra months of food all at once. You can simply pick up additional items whenever you shop as your budget allows.

Make a list of what your family would eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for one week. Take an inventory of what you currently have, and then make a list of what you need to purchase.  Now envision that you will not be able to leave the house for three months.

Some things to consider:

Do your kids eat cold cereal every morning? What are the chances they would eat cereal with powdered milk or canned milk? If you get a resounding “no”, maybe pancakes would be better. 

Do you eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day? What can you purchase in canned goods or frozen foods to supplement? 

Did you know you could freeze butter so that it would last longer?

Do you know how to make bread from scratch? No? Then try buying frozen bread loaves and baking them yourself.

Ask yourself questions that apply to you and get creative. 

Here is an example:

My family eats lots of spaghetti, so I make sure to have extra pasta, sauce, and frozen meatballs. I will also buy hamburger meat in bulk to save money and then section it out a freeze.

(Tip: purchasing a FoodSaver is a great solution for frozen food storage.)

I also store canned chili, soups, tomato sauce, chicken broth, cream of mushroom, canned chicken and beef, salsa, rice, various beans, and canned fruit. I have recipes for all of the items I store, and every time I buy new canned goods, I rotate the older cans to the front of the shelf, and put the newer cans in the back.

(Tip: mark the purchase date or expiration date with a Sharpie on pantry items for easy rotation.)

I store frozen fruits, vegetables, frozen bread, and meat. To extend the life of tortillas, I will wrap them in foil and freeze them. It is also wise to store extra Bisquick, sugar, flour, cornmeal, spices, salt, pepper, oil, and baking goods.

Again, make sure to buy the size you will use. For instance, flour only lasts three months to a year (a bit longer if you freeze it) so if you don’t bake a lot, buy a smaller bag of flour. Check out how long food lasts and what you can do with expired items here. (Link coming soon!)

Don’t forget to grab extras for everyday items like cooking oil, ketchup, salt, pepper, baking supplies, and syrup.

With these pantry items, I can make:

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Non-Food Items

Don’t overlook your other basic needs. What else would you likely run out of if you could not go to the grocery store for three months? Think about tin foil, plastic wrap, laundry detergent, toothpaste, feminine products, and body soap. Bleach (for water purification) and vinegar are also good items to keep on hand.

Remember to ROTATE! Check items that contain oils as they can go stale/rancid, so grab your Sharpie and write the date you purchased them for easy rotating.

Do what your budget will allow and prioritize what you will require based on your individual needs.