Don't Rely on Your Memory

Pick a room or closet in your house.  Write down from memory every single thing in that space.  Then go look.

You will be astounded how many things you forgot were in there.

Now consider what would happen after a tornado or fire.  The insurance company tells you that it will only cover the items you list on their forms.  You might list everything you can remember, then get the insurance settlement.

The sad truth is that later you will remember many other things, and be mad that you didn't get the reimbursements that should have been yours.

Whats the solution?

One possibility:  Take your digital camera and empty each closet and room in your house and systematically take photos of every item you own.

Second possibility:  Empty each closet and room in your house and systematically write down a list of everything.

Or combine the two.

Then store the digital photos or list somewhere else:  mail them on a thumb drive to your sister or your friend.

(NOTE TO SELF:  I NEED TO DO THIS.)

Highly recommended flashlight

I was reading the website of someone who has been through some very tough circumstances, so he knows what supplies are useful and which are not.

This is the best flashlight to own, according to him.

http://shop.gregmcgeeengineering.com/C3-907-170-Lumen-002.htm

National Geo TV show about preparedness tomorrow

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/doomsday-preppers-6202/Videos/10607_00#tab-Overview%23ixzz1QJKYgoAu/10607_00

"Doomsday Preppers"  airing Monday June 27, 10 pm on the National Geographic channel.

Has the Time for Preparation Passed?

An article written by Carolyn Nicolaysen in Meridian Magazine:

http://www.ldsmag.com/article/8143?ac=1

This was written after Hurricane Ike hit Texas in 2008

(Note from Amy:  I have retyped this because I only had a hard copy.  I do not know who the author is, other than “Jyl”, who appears to live in Tomball, Texas.  This was a forwarded email I received in 2008 after Hurricane Ike hit Texas.

Wikipedia says: Hurricane Ike was the third-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States.Due to its immense size, Ike caused devastation from the Louisiana coastline all the way to the Kenedy County, Texas region near Corpus Christi, Texas. In regional Texas towns, electrical power began failing on September 12 before 8 p.m. CDT,^[50]leaving millions without power (estimates range from 2.8 million^[102] to 4.5 million ^[103] customers). Grocery store shelves in the Houston area were left empty for weeks in the aftermath of the storm.)

Forwarded message

From Rozanne

Date: Tues. Sept. 23, 2008

Subject: Preparedness

To: Undisclosed Recipient

Just want to share this email that I received from a friend.  It’s a letter sent to her friend from people in Texas who just experienced “Ike”.   What a testimony for preparedness.

Dear Friends:

We have a 6’x6’ hole in our roof, no electricity or running water, Trees down everywhere.  However, because we listened to the counsel of our Prophet we are prepared.  In fact it seems to me that it’s only the members of the church who seem to be calm, prepared, and helping one another with trees in roofs, flooding, etc.

There is a POD or Point of Distribution in Tomball where we live.  There you get water and ice IF you have enough fuel to wait in the 3-hour lines.  We don’t have to do that because we have 3 full water barrels, 75 juice bottles filled with water, and our pool, which is dirty, but we use it to flush.

It is very difficult to get gas.  Police guard the stations when fuel is delivered and you might wait half a day to get up to the pump just to have them say, “Too bad, we are out.”  I am grateful that we have a generator.  We run it 4 hours a day to keep our fridge and light.  I am grateful that we have had fuel for it.  You can’t even buy gas containers as they are rationed.  We can only buy bread once a week and limited to 2 loaves at a time.  Water is rationed by the case at the grocery store- 3 cases per family.

The ATM machines do not have power.  For the past 6 months I have stashed small bills away because I have had such a feeling of foreboding.  We have cash because of that.  LISTEN TO THE SPIRIT.  Get cash in small bills because the stores can’t make change and credit and debit cards often don’t work.  I had to pay 5 dollars more for an item because they couldn’t make change for me.  And....PHONES ONLY WORK OCCASIONALLY.

Believe it or not....I have not had a bath in 4 days, Today was the first day I got to wash my hair with pool water.  I haven’t fixed my hair in a week!!! It just doesn’t matter anymore.  We cannot do laundry because we don’t have water.  So, we wear our clothes until they are literally disgusting.  When we do finally get water we will have to boil it since it is contaminated.

I am grateful for my parents.  When we got low on generator fuel they drove 45 minutes to help us.  They filled up their cans and brought us 10 gallons of fuel, which kept us going until this morning at 6:00 am when we finally found some gas. 

A prepared family and a loving extended family is the key to survival and making it through right now.  I know that my parents would drive to the end of the earth to help me and it’s nice knowing they are there.  I know that I would do the same for my children.

I want all of you to know that I have such a testimony of following the counsel of our living prophet.  There really is safety and peace in your heart if you are prepared.  Please get your generators, 5 gas cans full of gas, canned goods, baby items, baby wipes to bathe, and all the water you can store...even if you have to trip on it in your home.

Have your lanterns, crank flashlights, tarps, rope, etc. ready to go because you never know when it will be your turn to endure the test.  It’s overwhelming, but its going to be ok eventually.  I have a home, I have food, and I have water, because I listened to the counsel of the prophet.  Please make sure you do the same.  It’s time to have your life it order.  Tomorrow may be too late.

I love you all so much.  I wish you were here.  Take care!

Jyl

Church History teaches lessons Part 10

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, continued

Lesson 7: Be prepared to leave cherished belongings.

Fleeing the fires, many families grabbed belongings and tried to haul them on foot. One trunk “weighed a ton,” as Harold Jenson described it in his diary. 13 One family member pushed a wheeled sewing machine. Harold strapped family belongings to his bicycle. Too burdened, the family eventually left some of their belongings on the roadside.

Lesson 8: Ignore wild rumors that spread in panics and don’t pass them on.

The earthquake severed the city’s communications with the outside world, so rumors spread that Los Angeles was destroyed, New York was no more, and that the Great Salt Lake had inundated Salt Lake City!

One Final Lesson

Along with all of the practical lessons history teaches, one more lesson comes through: maintain good attitudes during troubled times. A sense of humor is like salve on a wound.

On 6 April 1846 about 2,000 Saints with about 400 covered wagons were bogging down in Iowa rains and mud, trying to reach campsites beside Locust Creek. “I was in the rain all day,” President Young noted in his diary, “arranging the wagons, pitching tents, chopping wood until all were comfortable.” That dreary day most members had good excuses to feel miserable. However, Patty Sessions noted in her diary that “[Brother] Brigham came up with his company driving his team in the rain and mud up to his kne[e]s as happy as a king.” 14

We would do well to follow Brother Brigham’s example, as well as that set by other Latter-day Saints who have had to deal with disasters and crises. By learning from the lessons of the past, we better prepare ourselves for the future.

Self-reliance

“The responsibility for each person’s social, emotional, spiritual, physical, or economic well-being rests first upon himself, second upon his family, and third upon the Church if he is a faithful member thereof. No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family’s well-being to someone else.” President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985), Ensign, Nov. 1977, 77.

Be Prepared

“While it is sincerely hoped that members do not get caught up in any hysteria or obsessive preparations for disasters, the Church continues its long-standing practice of encouraging members to be self-reliant and reasonably prepared.” Bishop H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop, “Conversation,” Ensign, Sept. 1999, 78.

Church History teaches lessons Part 9

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, continued

Lesson 4: Have minimal cleaning items, such as moist towelettes, toothpaste, deodorant, face towels, and even small bags of detergent.

“It was a real trial,” said missionary Elder Leo Gardner, bound for the Pacific islands, “to endure our thirst and to go without washing our faces and hands which were getting blacker with the dust and smoke.” 12

Lesson 5: Have emergency food as we have been taught.

San Franciscans rushed to local markets to buy up bread, creating panic buying. By noon, as fires spread through the city, martial law was declared, and anyone trying to enter stores, even store owners, were shot on sight as looters. Within a day or two the city provided bread for people who stood in breadlines that were four people wide and blocks long.

Lesson 6: It is important to have two or three meeting places where family members can find each other in case disaster strikes and the family is scattered.

President Robinson’s toughest task for about a week was reuniting families separated during the disaster. Evacuations had become necessary. With homes damaged and the Church’s mission home dynamited to create a firebreak, members scattered. President Robinson tried to let members know where other members were camped out by posting in the mission home ashes a sign indicating where the main Latter-day Saint camp was located.

Church History teaches lessons Part 8

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire

The U.S. earthquake against which all earthquakes are still measured is the San Francisco earthquake of 18 April 1906. The great quake caused terrible damage to buildings, roads, water systems, law enforcement, communications, and transportation. Fires broke out and caused more damage than the quake. Separations were common. Food, water, and sanitation became terrible problems.

Some 120 Church members—branch members, missionaries, and city visitors—were in the city at the time. Some wrote about how they survived the quake. 11 Their accounts identify several problems we could face if caught in a major earthquake or other catastrophes, such as hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, or fires, and they provide several preparedness ideas.

Lesson 1: Have sturdy shoes and durable clothing nearby in case of a sudden nighttime emergency, whether at home or away from home.

The 1906 quake struck before morning while people were sleeping. Frightened people ran into the streets in nightclothes and barefoot. Mission president Joseph Robinson hiked all over San Francisco trying to locate and help Church members. Broken bricks and glass quickly shredded his shoes.

Lesson 2: Have fire extinguishers in our homes.

Less than four blocks away from the Church’s mission home, a woman cooking breakfast accidentally started a fire. Firemen were too busy to respond to this “ham and eggs” fire. By the early afternoon, in order to keep the fire from spreading, firemen had to dynamite the area where the mission home stood.

Lesson 3: Have emergency water on hand in sturdy, non-glass containers.

Faucets went dry when the water mains broke. Thirsty people broke into stores and bars to find liquid. Thirsty members, who flocked to the mission home, were glad to be offered bottled fruit (fortunately the bottles had not broken).

Solar Oven: Eggs, and cake in cans

Here is a photo of my solar oven when I was baking some cake batter inside clean cans (I think these were originally 26.5 oz. spaghetti sauce cans.)  The reason I used the cans is because I don't have the perfect pans yet that fit inside my solar oven.  I've got to order some.  Until then, I just use whatever I can find.  


Note: I spray painted the outside of the cans with High Heat Black Grill Paint.


The other easy thing to cook in the solar oven is eggs. These turn out just like boiled eggs but they aren't boiled, since you use no water. Just place the raw eggs in the solar oven and let them cook. Since we have so many random clouds passing by all the time, I think I have left the eggs in there about an hour, but for full sun it may take shorter.

The eggs were "boiled" perfectly.

In a microwave, you can't put eggs in the shell and cook them, because they will explode. But for some reason, they don't explode in the solar oven.

The only weird thing is that they get a  spot on the shell where they sit on the oven shelf.  But it doesn't affect the insides.

Church History teaches lessons Part 7

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the Pioneer Famine of 1856, continued

Lesson 2: During times of famine we might choose to fast more often to provide for the needy.

In 1856 fasting made more food available for others. In April, President Brigham Young said that his family saved a considerable amount “by frequent fastings,” which they gave to the poor. One bishop whose ward was “very poor” said he “had nothing to begin with, but he immediately called a fast and the brethren have done pretty liberally.” 9

Lesson 3: When the course of our normal life is disrupted, it helps to fill free time with constructive activities.

A history about circumstances in Spanish Fork, Utah, in 1856 includes this description: “Having no crops to gather, the settlers built bridges, made fences, opened a road up the canyon for the purpose of getting out wood poles and all the men turned out for weeks on these public works, donating their labor.” 10

Church History teaches lessons Part 6

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.


Lessons from the "Saluda" Disaster, continued

Lesson 2: Up-to-date rosters of people are important, and parents need wills that specify who should have their children.

To this day, no one knows for certain how many members were aboard the Saluda, how many were lost, or how many reached Utah. Lexington townspeople, with charitable instincts but who also wanted to save children from Mormonism, took a number of Latter-day Saint orphans into their homes and raised them. Leaders had no list to check off to see how many children they needed to locate and claim.

Lessons from the Pioneer Famine of 1856

Members in Utah suffered through a harsh famine in early 1856 caused by a drought, grasshopper plague, and severe winter. From April to October 1855 no rains fell. Grasshoppers cleaned county after county of grain and fruit. Dry forests burned that fall. Deep winter snows and cold killed thousands of cattle. By January 1856 the pioneers faced starvation. Their efforts to survive suggest lessons about food storage, food shortages, and food rationing.

Lesson 1: In times of dire food shortages, we should be willing to share our personal food storage with others.

By mid-March 1856, wards were taking inventories to determine how much food was left in the community. It became clear that everyone would need to share what they had. Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball of the First Presidency, as well as many others who had supplies, reduced rations in their own families and helped those who were suffering. “I sell none for money,” President Kimball wrote, “but let it go where people are truly destitute. Dollars and cents do not count now.” 5

By July 1856 the Church’s tithing office and the people were running short of supplies. One city bishop “found 5 lbs of flour on three blocks and no meat.” 6

One sister recalled that during the famine she gave away flour. As her supply dwindled, she gave away a loaf of bread. Finally, with little flour left, she gave away slices of bread. People picked up crumbs when she cut the slices. “Women would offer me their jewelry, fine clothing, anything they had for bread,” she remembered. 7 Some people paid speculators $24 per hundred pounds of flour, when the normal price was $6. Bishop Aaron Johnson of Springville, Utah, sold flour at the going price of $6 and refused to raise his rates, even though people would pay four times that price. 8

Rain barrels for sale at Sam's Club

I saw these for sale at Sam's Club a few days ago for $78.88.  They attach to your downspout on your gutters, and there is a spigot included so you can attach your garden hose at the bottom of the barrel.  It holds 65 gallons of water that you could use to water your garden every day, and in an emergency you could use it to flush toilets.

The top is all enclosed to keep children and animals safe.  And it has mesh so that mosquitos don't breed in the water.  You can add some dirt on top and plant some flowers there.

This seems like a reasonable price for a rain barrel, I have seen them at similar prices elsewhere, and this one looks prettier.