Emergency Preparedness

I use to think of people that put together emergency preparedness kits as either being paranoid individuals or backwoods militia men that anticipated war or the world coming to an end.  That was before I became interested in a more frugal lifestyle and getting back to the basics of living; being more self sufficient if you will.  Since becoming unemployed, my income level has dropped beyond significant to flat lined, back up again and then nothing.  Nonetheless, I am able to hold my head up.  I want for nothing in regards to food, water and shelter and it is all possible due to being prepared. How prepared are you in the event an emergency happened where you are?

We don't relate unemployment on a daily basis to that of an "emergency", however when the food runs out and no sight of a paycheck anytime soon, one quickly goes in to survival mode; seeking anything in the pantry that could possibly make a meal; rationing the toilet paper, paper towels, etc.  Don't laugh, it's true.  We rarely consider emergency preparedness at all until we see countries like Haiti and Chile and the total devastation they have experienced.  Why is that? Is it the same type of fear just as we were afraid of talking about death in my one of previous blogs?  Is it the fear that should we reach the point where our lives switch over to survival mode, it might really be the real end?  It doesn't have to be like that.  I promise, you aren't going to  be viewed differently; you won't be called a "hoarder" or anything of the sort.  In fact, you more than likely will be admired for being proactive just as I have learned to admire those who have taught me; some young, some old.  Stereotypes such as these prevent us from being proactive and as a result, we rely on others who are prepared their resources rather than our own.  By doing so, however, could result in an emergency of its own should they die or not be able to get to you.  It is important that each of us take steps toward self sufficiency simply for that reason.  While I am constantly learning, I am becoming more proactive in my daily life and gaining confidence in being prepared for the smallest emergency as temporary as it may be.
Another example that is easier to relate to is something as simple as a winter storm with no heat or power for hours; days even.  This is more of a reality as we have seen this across the nation lately with nontraditional weather patterns as we enter what should be "spring".  While it's more typical where I live in the northwest and living in a rural area, most inner city folk are not prepared.  They can't be blamed as weather patterns like this do not occur regularly, but nonetheless it puts them in "survival mode"; a temporary state of panic; relying on road crews, power companies, grocery stores and agencies to do whatever it takes to get things back to normal . It's only natural for us in a crisis situation to make comments that "next time", we'll be prepared only to find ourselves integrating back in to our daily lives and never making the effort.  Finances are a good example of such.

Being prepared for any sort of emergency builds confidence and can reduce the stress and panic one might experience in such a crisis.  Food seems to be the main focal point and the most intimidating item when preparing an emergency preparedness kit due to a lack of knowledge in how to prepare dehydrated food.  You would actually be surprised just how much you already cook with it and how you can have fun creating meals that you will enjoy.  Many have the preconceived notion to think that should an emergency occur, there they will be with a box filled with bland, boring meals for survival.  Not so.  I came across the blog Trail Cooking & The Outdoors that appears to market to back country trail hikers.  But what I found is that there are volumes of recipes that are fun and made with everyday food items you probably already use; and they're dehydrated!  For the average spouse that has children, you can't go wrong with their recipes and may even find yourself trying some their cooking ideas for fun.  There are videos, tutorials, and alternative cooking ideas.  This has been my site of preference.

Depending on how involved you want to get, there are many sites regarding emergency preparedness.  Through my research, I have found that the FEMA website is another great resource for  anyone considering their own emergency preparedness kit, but it is not an easy read compared to the Preparedness Pantry blog I found.  It is an interesting site with more information than one could imagine including recipes for food stored items.  It's really a matter of preference and how detailed you want to get.   The idea behind it all is to have fun with it and determine whether you are looking to create a long term storage plan to last for up to twenty years, or one that will provide the basic essentials for a shorter period of time.

While water and a heat source are essential for food stored items, there are also non-food preparedness items that one needs to consider as well; especially if you are considering emergency preparedness kits for long term storage.  A detailed list of such items can be found in the Just Add Water book  written by Barbara G. Salsbury advertised here.  She is by far one of the best pioneers on studying dehydrated foods; developing and testing a variety of recipes and speaking at functions regarding food and water storage and usage.  I highly recommend this book for anyone working with churches and community organizations considering an emergency preparedness kit for their group. For the average person, I found it a little more than I cared to bargain with.  It does, however provide a wealth of knowledge and recipes to boot.

Should plans such as these be too overwhelming, consider starting by simply adding a few extra items to your plan over the course of a few months each time you go to the grocery store.  Regardless of who you are or what status you may have in the community, I hope that you will take the initial steps toward being proactive; self sufficient.  Never rely on outer resources to be able to get to you in the state of an emergency; no matter how small.

Flies in the Attic!

Do you ever lie in bed at night, especially in the dead of winter, close your eyes and just as you begin to fall into that ever relaxed state, you are jolted by the sound of flies buzzing all around? You turn the light on; take a look around, nothing. With the lights off, your attempt to return to that peaceful state is interrupted once again. Frustrated, you get up and behind the curtain, lurking in the corner of the window, find it, smash it and go back to bed. It's only a matter of minutes before it seems as though a colony has moved into the attic above in retaliation and the buzzing sound becomes overwhelming. Sound familiar? Perhaps not, but flies in the attic can refer to much more in our lives.
There are two types of flies; infesting and invading. The infesting flies complete their life cycle indoors where they can find favorable spots to breed. While invading flies breed and develop outdoors, they tend to drop in occasionally to simply wreak havoc; well, not really. Just as these pesky little critters can drive one crazy in the middle of the night, there are other flies in the attic; those conversations in our minds that we can't seem to tune out in an effort to get a good nights sleep; our job (or the lack of); bills; kids; money; things we have done and the things we have left undone. Over time our minds become infested with so much “stuff” and just when we think we’ve got it all resolved in our heads to turn over and go to sleep, something else pops in our minds and adds to the frustration. We are left staring at the ceiling with our heart rate ready to go through the roof. These, my friend, are flies in the attic and unless you find a remedy, they will continue to breed and some will drop by only to aggravate the buzz and send us in to overdrive.
There’s no doubt that with the recession comes stress. No matter what the income level, many are experiencing additional stress such as cut backs at work, unemployment, and the rising costs of fuel and groceries to name a few. Some of these are daily concerns for many but can be exacerbated when there is a crisis at hand. Suddenly people come down with flu-like symptoms at the worst possible time and just as the outdoor fly dropping by, the stress level rises and productivity decreases.
Locating a remedy to the flies in our attic is as simple as Integrated Pest Management (IPM); identifying what is causing this infestation and creating your own IPM techniques. It puts you in control of the situation faster, unlike the unsuccessful quick fix remedy of smashing the one fly and returning to bed only to deal with another shortly afterward. Just as flies continue to breed and will never go away; our daily stresses will always be there, too. By creating your own IPM, you can create a simple, long term and ongoing three-step plan that will help you accomplish the ultimate goal: managing flies in the attic.

Step One: Sanitation
Step Two: Inspection
Step Three: Exclusion


Sanitation
Don't let fruit rot in your garden! Harvest everything and remove all decaying material on a regular basis. When applied to flies, it sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Good health and cleanliness is important. Eat foods that are good for you and stay with you during the day and eliminate those that are bad. Don’t let life pile up on you. The flies in your attic are clutter that creates stress and chances are if they are invading your mind, they are invading your everyday life and your health as well.
With cleanliness comes great pride, relaxation, new found ways to save money at times and organization; therefore a reduction of stress. This isn't about worrying how others see you; it's about taking care of yourself and reducing your stress to a manageable state. By creating some simple habits, you can manage the flies in the attic

Inspection
If you can identify what is attracting the flies,half the battle is won! Some surveys show that less than 10% of the population in this country is clutter free. It drains us of energy, time, and money and causes disease. Take a quick assessment of what is causing all this clutter in your life. Is it procrastination, laziness, feelings of being overwhelmed? One example is your wallet or your purse; better yet, your car. Dump it all out and look inside at receipts and see where you have spent money on unnecessary things, look at the amount of energy it took to get things to its current state and how much time and energy it is going to take to get it all back in order. We all lose things; keys, our coat, the other shoe. As a result we spend more time trying to find it than we did placing it where it didn't belong in the first place. Everyone has a "catch all" place in their home; a kitchen counter; a desk; dresser, etc. Take a quick assessment of all that is there and what you put off as a "when I can get around to it". It doesn't take long to become overwhelmed and embarrassed by what you have created and the down hill spiral begins. You know in the back of your mind that you should deal with it and yet go to bed not being able to turn it off.

Exclusion
Weather-strip your mind! Keep a tight screen! Get rid of the "un-necessaries”! While we can't prevent all thoughts from entering our minds in our efforts of a good night's sleep, there are ways to reduce them. Just as having a screen prevent flies from entering, creating that same screen in your mind is helpful. Assess the task at hand and screen the information. Ask yourself if there is anything you can do at that very moment to fix it. If not, determine if it is worth jotting down a note and dealing with in the morning or if it simply needs to be thrown out; rotten information (or fruit) not worth keeping. It is important to keep a tight screen. When a fly senses a temperature difference, it finds its way in and the invasion begins. A screen is a filter. It still allows for smaller and more manageable thoughts, yet keeps the overwhelming from entering.

New flies will come and some will go with time; it’s inevitable. There’s no sure fix to flies in the attic. If we wipe out as much of the rotten fruit in our gardens as we can on a regular basis in one good swat and set the bait outside our door for the pesky invaders that aren’t welcome, we can become successful IPM entrepreneurs!