As with any journey, having a prioritized, detailed itinerary will help you navigate the bumps on the road and ensure you reach each landmark successfully.
Here we are, embarking on our journey to Preparedness! As with any trip, it is wise to have your path marked and the landmarks highlighted to help you find the way. Just like following your trusty glove compartment map, we are going to be following a priority list of preparedness to keep us on the road to our destination. After reaching these more significant landmarks, you can move on to a more rounded supply.Are you ready to map out our journey? Let's begin!
- Water Storage: If you are like me, you might have overlooked water storage at first. Did you know that your body can only survive a few short days without water before suffering internal damage? The human body is over 70 percent water, making it vital to keep hydrated. All the food storage in the world will do you no good if you have no water to drink!
Also, how many of you plan on adding dehydrated or freeze dried food for your food storage? These items need to be reconstituted so it would be wise to have a method of water filtration on hand in addition to the water you store.
- Emergency Kits: We always had our 72-hour kits growing up. I thought they didn't do much good, tucked in the closet next to the front door. But I remember the day that I realized the importance of a 72-hour and auto emergency kit: I was watching the victims of Hurricane Katrina wait and suffer while supplies were being hastily gathered for them, and it dawned on me that if they had a 72-hour kit they would be much more comfortable.
These kits should be portable, preferably stored in a backpack or other easy to carry bag, and should contain necessities your family would need for the first three days of an emergency. It should contain water, food, sanitation, along with first aid and other important survival items. We'll go into detail on everything you should have in your emergency kits in the weeks to come.
- Food Storage: After you've stored appropriate amounts of water, and have your emergency kits on hand, it's finally time for you to work on your food storage! Though many of us imagine using our food storage should a natural disaster occur, there are other emergencies that may require us to use our food storage. With the recent economic uncertainties many have experienced, some of us might find ourselves under-employed or even unemployed. Wouldn't it be nice to have some food storage on hand to supplement or even replace that large "grocery" portion of your monthly budget? Making your family as self sufficient as possible is a great priority.
I also challenge you to look at your food storage in a whole new light and from a different perspective than you may be accustomed to. In order to maximize nutrition and reap the greatest value out of your food storage, try out the mantra of "eat what you store, and store what you eat." Don't worry, it isn't as intimidating as you might think. Emergency Essentials and I will help you along the way. Emergency Essentials also has some great tools such as the "Food Storage Analyzer" that will help you not only keep track of your food storage, but show you exactly what you need for your families specific needs.
