When it comes to emergencies there’s items that are necessities and there’s items that are luxuries. Generally speaking you want to tackle the necessities first and then add additional items to increase the comfort level of the situation.

Here are 9 essentials you should have during a sheltering in place scenario, (keep in mind that you may be required to shelter in place somewhere besides your own home):

1. Water - Plan on 1 Gallon per person, per day for drinking and sanitation. Our water storage category includes items like Datrex Water Pouches and 5-Gallon Water Containers that can help you with your water needs.

2. Food – A supply of 3-5 days per person. For a lot of people the first couple of days can be supplemented by what’s already in the house. However, to insure that you always have your emergency food supply ready to go I recommend one of our 3-21 Day Food Supplies.

3. Clothes – In your 72-Hour Kit you want to be sure you have an extra pair of clothes and shoes for each person in your group/family.

4. Medications – It’s a good practice to collect 3-5 days worth of any prescription medications that you’re taking. Also be sure to note expiration dates so that you can rotate them appropriately.

5. Flashlight - When it comes to flashlights, don’t go cheap. There are good flashlights out their that are very affordable. Here’s some great options: Ultra-Bright 3-LED Dynamo Flashlight, 12-LED StreamLine Flashlight, or the ULTIMATE Dynamo Solar Powered Survival Radio.

6. Can Opener – This is another item that you want to be sure is high quality. There’s nothing worse than a can opener that won’t open cans.

7. Radio – The ideal option for a radio is one that has multiple options for powering the radio including, batteries, hand-crank, AC/DC, and/or

solar. The ULTIMATE Dynamo Solar Powered Survival Radio is a great option for this.

8. Hygiene Kit - Start with just the basics, soap, toilet paper and a toothbrush is enough to get most people by for 3-5 days.

9. First Aid Kit – Again, from a starting point perspective make sure that your first-aid kit at lest includes, antiseptic, gloves, bandages and your non-prescription medicine such as aspirin or Tylenol.

Put these 9 essential items in place and you’ve got a good foundation for a sheltering in place emergency kit!

1. How much space will it take up?

Finding space for food storage is an important consideration.  Many mistakenly feel that they don’t have enough space.  That would be true if you are buying large bulky buckets and sacks of food.  However, if you buy freeze dried food, not only will your food be light, it will also fit in a much smaller space.  We package our cases with 6 #10 cans.  This allows for a convenient slim box that is stack able.  You can fit this box under the bed, or in the closet.

2. How long is the shelf life?

If you are stacking and storing away your food storage, you might be thinking “But how will I rotate it?”  Freeze Dried Food can last for 20-30 years. Most people will never have to rotate it.  You can see the dates on the cans that will tell you how much longer your food will last.  This will let you store the food and forget about it until that job loss or natural disaster happens.

3. How difficult is it to prepare?

Imagine you are in a disaster situation.  Do you really want to expend your energy grinding wheat and taking hours to prepare your meals?  We didn’t think so.  With freeze dried food you have have a delicious, nutrient dense meal in minutes.  All you have to do is add water.  Stir it up, and you are ready to eat.  This will also help you conserve your fuel and other energy sources.

4. Will my family eat it?

Note: Do not buy food storage that your family will not eat.  The food needs to be as close to your normal diet routine as possible so that your family will be able to enjoy it during hard times.  It’s essential that everyone gets the right amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients during and after a disaster.  You don’t want unfamiliar food to be a road block in making sure your children are fed properly.  Freeze Dried Entrees come in many of the meals you are already eating.

5. How does it taste?

Lastly,  If it doesn’t taste good, you won’t end up eating it (unless it’s the only option).  So make sure you only buy food storage that is delicious.  One of the main problems you are going to have with Freeze Dried Food is that you won’t want to store it.  You will want to eat it instead!   My family uses it almost every day because it is so easy and it tastes so good.  Don’t invest in food storage that you won’t wan to eat!

Hurricane Season is on its way out.  If you recall, the experts we’re saying that this season was going to be an extremely active season.  Were they wrong?

Ironically they were right…and wrong.  An average hurricane season will produce approximately 10 storms, 6 of which become hurricanes.  This year (to date) we have seen 15 named storms.  So if we go purely on number of storms the expert nailed it, we did in fact have an active season.

But, if there were more storms this year, why did it seem so quiet?  And the answer to that is where they were wrong.  As far as the USA is concerned nothing has really hit land fall that’s had any staying power.

“A couple of relatively minor impacts and some flooding and that’s what we’d have to show for it,” Bill Read, U.S. National Hurricane Center Director said.

Apparently predicting landfall is more difficult to predict.  An example of this is Colorado State University’s forecasters had predicted a 76% chance that a major hurricane would make landfall on the U.S. coastline.  For the last century the average has been 52%.

Now, as we look at the outcome of this years Hurricane Season, what lessons can we take from it and apply it to our future emergency preparation efforts?

• Regardless of what the experts say, most disasters are extremely unpredictable.  Disasters don’t cater to the experts and may hit (or in this case not hit) unexpectedly.
• Preparation isn’t wasted on the disaster that didn’t come.
• When it comes to disasters, past outcomes do not necessarily determine future outcomes.

As you commonly hear in the emergency preparedness arena, it’s better to be prepared a year early then a second late.  The reality is, though the hurricanes didn’t hit like they were predicted we know that disasters can literally be just around the corner and the best insurance for you and your family is to take the time to be prepared before it happens.

Take advantage of our current Employee Price Discounts and get started today!

Many people know that MRE stands for Meal Ready to Eat and that they are used by the US Military but few know the history behind this innovative and life sustaining product.

MREs first came into existence in 1981 to replace the heavy canned Meal, Combat, Individual Rations (MCI) meals that had been in use since the Civial War in the 1860s. The full meals consisted mostly of beef, peas, and rice. Over time the military tried various methods to reduce weight, one effort was to send troops dried or salted meats so that they could carry the meals with them.

The Department of Defense began development of Meals Ready to Eat in 1963 in which modern food preparation and packaging technologies were being implemented to help bring down the weight of the rations. Various versions were experimented with over time to better serve their purpose.

Other interesting MRE Facts

- Commercial graphics were added to packaging in 1994 as studies showed increased consumption by the troops
- In 1984 biodegradeable spoons were introduced for a friendlier environmental impact.
- Military grade MRE are not available to the public but the same manufacturers create civilian MREs that are legal to supply to the public.
- MRE cases must be able to withstand a 1,250 foot parachute drop.

With practically no time to prepare southern Texas was hit by Hermine recently.  The Associated Press had this to say:

“The Hermine-fueled flooding caught much of Texas by surprise and forced more than 100 high-water rescues, though not all were successful. Flash flooding has killed at least two motorists and others are still missing.”

When this Tropical Storm hit, it happened so quick that for most people you were either already prepared or it was too late.

It was an interesting storm because Hermine packed a pretty light punch when it made landfall late Monday, so light that many Texas residents were shocked and totally unprepared for the sudden flooding that happened on Wednesday.

Hermine was the third tropical system this year to hit the Rio Grande Valley, which encompasses northeastern Mexico and southeastern Texas. The storm struck the flood-prone area just after the cleanup finished from Hurricane Alex at the start of the summer and an unnamed tropical depression in July.

I can’t help but wonder, of the people in southeastern Texas, how many were ahead of the game and ready before the first storm hit?  How many then got ready after the second storm?  And now, after three storms just this summer, how many people will decide that now’s the time to get ready.

I don’t know what you call it, but for some reason there’s something in us humans, that by nature keeps us from doing the things that need to be done.  What’s ironic about it, is that it’s not like most of us haven’t already experienced a disaster.

It seems that after a disaster subsides, we drop back into complacency.  It’s as if we convince ourselves that “Lightning won’t strike twice” that we’ll certainly only experience one major disaster in our life time.

Here’s the great news, by recognizing this tendency we allow ourselves to do something about it.  We can acknowledge our complacency and change our behavior.  In this case, changing our behavior means do something about it today because we never know what tomorrow will bring.