Emergency Preparedness

So, everywhere I turn these days, I see warnings and advice about emergency preparedness. I'm sure you've seen them too. I keep feeling prompted to do something in case of emergencies. Natural and man-made disasters seem to be all around us! While it may seem overwhelming, if we do one little step at a time, we can be more prepared to deal with whatever may come.

One website I saw suggested making a list of all the things in your house that use electricity. Take a sheet of paper, draw a line down the center, and label the left side "Things that use electricity." My list included: heat, lights, stove-top, oven, washer, dryer, dishwasher, radio, TV, refrigerator, freezer. Label the right side "Replacements." Then list things that could replace those items. My list included:

for the heaters: fireplace and wood, matches
for the lights: flashlights, candles, batteries, matches, glow-sticks
for the stove top: grill, , hobo stove, buddy burners, matches
for the oven: applebox reflector oven, charcoal, Dutch oven, matches
for the washer: tub, 5 gallon bucket and plunger, washboard
for the dryer: drying racks, clothesline or rope, clothespins
for the dishwasher: tub, dish detergent
for the radio: battery radio and batteries
Not really good replacements for the fridge or the freezer.

This suggestion came from the website blog.totallyready.com. This gal also has a running series called Seven Steps, with seven ideas a week for improving your family's emergency preparedness. She has many other ideas as well.