What We Store and How We Prep: 72 Hour Kits

(Our 72 hour kit is growing...I think we need a second tote!!)

I have posted about this subject recently, but one of the ways in which we are attempting to become more "prepared" is by creating a 72 hour kit. My husband has been wanting to work on this project for a while as a family, and I kept stalling because I thought it would be too time-consuming, too expensive, unnecessary, yadda yadda. I made up a lot of excuses.
But, thanks to a few minor emergencies, and the realization that I have more to care about than simply myself, I managed to get inspired after doing some searches on Pinterest, and found a post that encouraged me to get started. I modified the list a bit, since we have an infant in the house, as well as a dog, and I tweaked some amounts to work for our own family, but the premise is still very much the same.
Our kit isn't complete, not by a long shot, but we're getting there. I still need to pack food for the baby and the dog. We need to add in some lists of important information, phone numbers, etc, as well as adding in some money and change. I need a few more various supplies, like a spare leash for the dog, a copy of his rabies certificate (in the event a shelter requires one), matches, bug spray...you get the idea. There are some small gaps to fill.
But the thing that intrigued me the most is how much of the stuff we already had on hand, since we believe in buying in bulk and stockpiling. And I think that preparing our 72 hour kit has inspired me to stockpile even more. Last night, I managed to snag 8 hand soaps and 10 boxes of bandaids to stockpile, and we went to Sam's Club to get things like regular soap and toothbrushes. The hubby wants to get some MREs to put in so we can have meals that are more filling. I think that, with any kit, there are always things you can keep adding. We have added a lot since my last post on this concept. And there's still plenty more that can be done.
We also have an unfulfilled goal to create a kit for each car. We have a semblance of one in one of our cars, but it's a bit pitiful. Our idea list is:

In addition to two car roadside emergency kits with jumper cables and such—

-a small first aid kit for each car

-spare shoes for me

-a blanket or space blankets

-clothing for kids (pj’s) and pants for me

-diapers/wipes/underwear for Goob

-a couple portable baby food containers, granola bars, and a baby spoon

-four bottles of water per car

-flashlight per car

-very basic tool kit

-duffel as containers

We contemplated getting premade 72 hour kits for both the home and the car, but at the end of the day, we actually felt it was cheaper to raid our stockpile first and make our own, than to add to an already created kit. The kits for the cars are our next priority, and we need to get started on them.

What do you have in your 72 hour kits, if you have them?

What We Store and How We Prep: Sugars/Sweeteners

I find that, with the downturn in the economy and as I grow into my role as wife and mother, I have developed a real passion for food storage and emergency preparedness (in case you haven't gleaned this from my previous posts).
But, much like my goals when it comes to my marriage, parenting, finances, etc, storing food and preparing for "what-ifs" are a work in progress. Our food storage and our emergency kits are NOWHERE near complete; please don't get me wrong about this. But, I do have a developing love for this subject, and I figured it would be helpful for me and my readers to follow me on my journey to self-reliance. So, I decided to start a series in my blog on what we have chosen to store in our household, the ways we "prep," and also, our progress (are we meeting our goals, how have our goals/aspirations changed, and so forth).
In my introductory entry, I think I want to talk about one of my favorite things as a sugar junkie: sweeteners. In my opinion, if an emergency ever takes place, or if we need to rely on our food storage for a time, I don't want my food to be boring and bland.
The obvious solution to this would be to have sugar on hand, which we do. We currently have several #10 cans of white sugar, a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff, two 7 pound bags of brown sugar, and a very small amount of powdered sugar (which, admittedly, I don't use very often, and don't keep in good supply). We buy our sugar at warehouse clubs, mainly. I like buying the 25 lbs. bags of white sugar and placing the contents in a bucket you can buy at Lowe's or other home improvement stores. Admittedly, I don't buy food grade buckets (and I should), but we use the stuff so fast that I'm not overly concerned about anything leaching out from the plastic. We also buy our brown sugar at warehouse clubs, and brown sugar freezes WONDERFULLY. It thaws in about a half an hour on a table, if that, and you're good to go. Dump it into a big Tupperware container or something comparable that is air tight, and you're set. I probably should buy some more powdered sugar, but am not sure of a good way to store it, so if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears. In terms of shelf life, sugar can last for years, if stored correctly.
An alternative sweetener is honey, which we buy locally and in bulk. We are lucky to have resources available to us in our area to buy inexpensive, local, pure honey, and I typically buy it in 3 lb. or more jars. It doesn't go bad easily, though it does crystallize, which you can remedy by placing a jar under warm/hot water for a bit. Honey also has a lengthy shelf life.
We also buy Karo corn syrup. I'm not sure why there is so much hatred of corn syrup, but I have yet to buy into all of the ire, so we keep some on hand. We just buy small bottles of the light and the dark both to keep on hand--we do use it, but not often enough for me to want to keep more than maybe 4 jars on hand at any given time. Also stores well.
Molasses...I keep a jar of this on hand, but don't use it very much. I have heard that the shelf life is poor, so that is a deterrent for me, though I haven't researched it much because, well, we don't really use it.
Agave nectar--just bought our first jar of it, and have not tried it, but have heard that a little goes a long way, and that a small amount can replace sugar in some recipes. If anyone has any information to share about this, please feel free to comment.
Maple syrup is a sweetener that I absolutely adore. I'm talking real deal, pure maple syrup, and this is something that I just recently started using. I use it in lots of applications, but most often, as a glaze for meat, oddly enough. Has a shelf life of a year or two on the shelf, and about six months to a year in the fridge, judging from the research I have done. I have been told that occasionally a harmless mold can grow on the syrup, but you can boil the syrup, skim the skin, and replace it into the bottle, and you've fixed the issue.
I do also store other syrups, like commercial artificial maple syrup (like Mrs. Butterworth, for example), and fruit syrups that we have come across on sale at discount stores in our town.
Jams and jellies are an easy sweetener alternative. They are inexpensive, come in all sorts of varieties, and have a lengthy shelf life. Plus, you can make your own if you're canning inclined or like making freezer jam. Between our jams and jellies, as well as our fruit butters that we have on hand, I would say we have easily a dozen to a dozen and a half jars on our food storage shelves. I canned homemade apple butter with a friend a couple years ago, and it turned out OK, but the majority of our jams are commercially produced, or made locally by a small producer. I really like what preserves have to offer in the way of variety and shelf life, and they can be a very appealing option when looking to add to your food storage without breaking the budget.
I think my goals would be to 1) widen our repertoire of sweeteners and know how to use and store them (like molasses and powdered sugar), 2) to not go overboard in this category seeing as I love jam, for example, and could buy unlimited quantities if given the option, and 3) I would still like to have more white sugar on hand, as well as a better means to store it--maybe keeping some in actual food grade buckets, buying more #10 cans of it, etc.
So, what do you do to make your kitchen/food storage a bit "sweeter?"

Progress

At the start of this year, we had five open credit cards. We plan on keeping two open (for now). One has a zero balance, and the other is maxed out, but has a low interest rate and is backed by our local credit union. The other three were burdens on our family, nicknamed "The Big Three" by the hubby and me. We have managed to negotiate the interest rate on one of the cards (which dropped it 20%), and today, on one of "The Big Three," we have managed to settle our account, pay less than what the balance was, and are officially paid off on that card. You see all of these companies on TV telling you to pay them big $$$ to settle your debts for you. I simply called this credit card company, told them what we were dealing with, and asked for a debt settlement on the card, knowing that it would hit my already abysmal credit, and they happily accepted and reduced the balance by $600. Normally, I would be opposed to paying less than what I owed out of ethics and principle, but we have been paying more than the minimum payment on this card for years now, and the balance never seems to drop, so I felt I was getting rooked, and quite honestly, didn't mind the idea of screwing them back a bit.
But, at the end of the day, I took matters into my own hands, bit the bullet, put on my big girl panties, and now officially have one of "The Big Three" paid in full (and also, all of those three cards are closed, as well).
If you know me at all, you have an idea how tremendous this is for me right now. :)

Randomosity

I feel like blogging, but don't really have any cohesive message to share, so I'm just gonna ramble and see where it takes us.
The other day, I was changing seven month old Bean on the bed in her room. She's rolling now, so I placed her perpendicular to the edge of the bed, thinking that, if she rolled, she'd roll down the bed, and not off of the bed. I took my eyes off of her for two seconds as I reached for some baby blue jeans in her dresser not more than a foot behind me, and I heard a sickening THUNK followed by a wail of epic proportions.
My baby gal fell off the bed.
I snatched her up, and once I calmed her down and checked her out, I called the doctor's office, where the nurse assured me Bean would be just fine, and that this happens to every mother. But, I was sobbing. I never thought it would happen to me because I was "smarter" than that. And yet, no matter the preparations, the good intentions, it happened anyway.
Which got me thinking about just life and motherhood and children in general. Life is like that when you're a parent. You can prepare kids, you can nurture them, you can have the best of intentions, and think you know it all. But, we don't. Parents goof up. Children go off the beaten path. They screw up, too. I think it's just the nature of parenting and growing up. As long as we do our best, and try to make it through slip ups, it'll work out somehow. Kids fall off the bed. Sometimes, stuff happens, and it's what you make of it.
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We registered the Goob for pre-K today. We tried to prepare him by telling him he was going to take a look at his new school this morning. When we got out of the car, he happily proclaimed that he wanted to hear a school bell, and his excitement made me both happy for him, and a bit misty eyed at the same time. When did he grow up? When did he stop being my little baby? I watched him as he looked around at all of the children, the gymnasium, the playground, and he was enthralled. I sat back as he played with other little kids waiting as their parents signed paperwork, and I knew that I was making the right choice for him and for what he needs at this point in his life, even if it does make me a bit teary-eyed and slightly sad inside. It will be a transition for both of us.
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In other less emotional news, I snagged some more freebies this week. Some of the haul includes more digital magazine subscriptions (stuff like Kiwi and Harper's Bazaar), three six-ounce tubes of Jason all-natural whitening toothpaste, which retails for just under seven bucks a tube, and I got three for free plus free shipping, a personalized travel mug, a photo calendar for my desk at work with pictures of the children, two more personalized humorous birthday cards, and I sent away for a free sample of body lotion from the Burt's Bees company. One of the lessons I have learned in scoring free stuff is that I don't need everything just because it says it is free, and also, if you want to get free stuff, but have to pay for shipping, it can start adding up fast, and before you know it, it isn't worth it anymore. So, like everything, it's a balance.
Cheers!

My Son Feels the Same Way About Twilight as I Do....

In my defense, it's not what it looks like. It's innocent. But, I'm not, for wishing he was....

Is It Me, Or Am I Starting to Sound Like a PSA?

I feel like I'm starting to sound like a public service announcement lately, with all of my posts on preparedness and self reliance.
I've got a couple things to say tonight, so this entry might feel just a touch random, so bear with me....
Our area is known for having a lot of older homes, and in the recent months, there have been several fatal home fires, including one that took the lives of two very small children. It made me sick to hear that two beautiful, innocent little children were taken in such an awful, painful way, and what made it even worse is that the apartment building lacked smoke detectors.
My husband and I made it a goal to add more smoke detectors to our home, but we were unsure as to how we wanted to do them--do we hardwire them so when one goes off, they all go, or do we do battery powered, etc--and it didn't get done, and didn't get done. It took another (non-fatal) house fire, literally a block away from our former rental home, to make me realize we needed to do this and do this NOW--we can improve them later. Something is better than nothing.
So, we bought two more smoke detectors, and also another fire extinguisher, bringing our total to three smoke detectors and two extinguishers. I feel like a huge load is off of my mind. That is perhaps my worst nightmare--losing my family--and I encourage you all to check your smoke detectors, or buy them if you don't have them. The picture of those two now-dead girls from our town still haunts me and makes me sick inside.
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On another subject, my rockin' friend Tara posted a fabulous blog entry about accepting your children as they are, and I have been doing a lot of thinking about this lately. I struggle sometimes accepting it when my children aren't following what *my* plan for them is--if they aren't pottytrained fast enough, or sitting up soon enough, or crawling, or writing their names...whatever. It can bring me such anxiety worrying about each and every little thing, and stressing about whether or not they can do this or that. And the thing is--it's totally selfish of me. I am focusing on MY time table, and not what they need. If I could just relinquish my expectations and accept them for who they are, we all would be less stressed and on edge sometimes. Sure, it's OK to make sure they are developing correctly--that we know--but there is a difference between concern and impatience. I really, really, desperately need to work on this, on improving my relationship with them, on developing patience, and loving them as they are. I do love them, obviously, but I need to be less selfish.
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UPDATE: This week in "fail": While re-organizing my kitchen this morning (2/20/12), I found an unopened smoke detector, probably at least three years old, on the top of my fridge, which I hadn't cleaned in, oh, three years or more. So much for good intentions three years back... At least I have them up and functioning now.

My Evening Soapbox--Why I Feel Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness is So Very Necessary

I am not normally someone who feels prompted or compelled to speak on something, but I have this nagging need to share my thoughts and feelings on food storage and emergency preparedness in detail.
In case you don't know, my church counsels us to be prepared for potential small term emergencies or challenges that face our families. Contrary to popular opinion, it's not a Doomsday Prepper sort of thing, but rather, they encourage us to have provisions on hand for the smaller crises that do happen in life. Power outages happen. Natural disasters do happen. People are laid off from jobs. Prices go up. We get snowed in. Stuff happens. And that is what we are admonished to prepare for, not for the end of the world, so to speak.
When I was a kid, when I heard the term "food storage" (for example), I cringed. I had this vision of women sitting around at a church meeting discussing the 230,000,000 things you can do with 800 year old wheat. We were advised to store a year's worth of food, and my small mind saw a house with #10 cans flowing out of the windows. I was JUST. NOT. INTERESTED.
And I carried that view with me into my marriage. When I was married and was a new mom, I was kinda interested in food storage and emergency preparedness, but didn't really know where to begin. To me, it was a lot like setting up a house when you're newly married--you know you need a lot of stuff, but you'll never have it all at once, so you become overwhelmed. Everyone tells you to do things a little bit at a time, but you think, "Oh, it'll never get accomplished that way." But, someday, you have a decent supply of goods in your house, enough to live and enjoy life, and you look back on those early days with nostalgia and a lesson learned.
That is what happened with me and food storage and emergency preparedness. Upon the birth of our second child, I started to really feel inspired to make it a priority for our family. And since then (maybe even a little before that), we have been buying a little here and a little there. I want to work up to a year's worth of food, and a decent supply of emergency supplies (a full week's worth, even two, would be such an accomplishment, down to alternative heating, etc.) We're not there yet, but we're getting there. Much like a lot we do in our lives, be it setting up a home, or paying down debt, or teaching children, it's a step at a time. I have been so pleased at how much progress "a little at a time" has made when it comes to our goals.
I was talking with a friend who is older and is very much into food storage, and she was talking to me about how surprised she was that, being "young," I was so into the concept of it and emergency preparedness, particularly since she had noticed that my generation doesn't seem to be as into it, that she knows people my age who buy nothing for the future, even members of my church, and who pass up opportunities to buy a bit here, and a bit there. On the one hand, it really made me sad to realize that a lot of young parents like us aren't doing it, but on the other hand, I totally get it. It is such a completely overwhelming idea. It really is. When I first started, I remember calling my mother in law panicked over all of this stuff I felt I needed to do RIGHT THIS SECOND. I still get that feeling sometimes.
I'm sharing this with you because I hope to inspire you to squirrel away a little food, to make an evacuation plan in case of fire, to update your smoke detectors (we NEED to do this...the ones we have up work, but we took a couple down and never put them back up), to prepare 72 hour kits--do SOMETHING. It's not as difficult as you think, and even a little can go a long way.