So you know how important it is to be prepared with food, water, warmth & shelter. But what about items that we take for granted everyday? While the basics are very important, you may learn fast that there are other items that can be of great use during a time of emergency or disaster.

Our purpose in preparation, is not just to help you stay alive during a difficult situation, but also to be able to live comfortably.  There are a few items you might be overlooking in your effort to become prepared.

Here are a few items I thought you might want to consider in your plan to be ready:

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In a recent online poll of over 27,000 respondents over 80% feel that food prices will rise in the United States this year.

One of the things we try do At The Ready Store is to stay current with the events going on in our world so we can try and deliver relevant information to our customers with regards to preparing for the unknown.

Something that we have seen consistently over the last several months is talk about the global food supply being in danger due to a variety of reasons such as poor crop output stemming from bad weather, an example is the flooding in Australia which is looking like it will wipe out their wheat crops entirely. Then there are other factors like a very large and rapidly growing middle class in China and other emerging countries where demand spikes and cause a stress to the global food chain supply. In some places the price increases have led to riots, recently Tunisia’s President fled his country from deadly riots stemming from high inflation on food.

Luckily in the United States we have several things that create a bit of a buffer on food prices so they are not so volatile. One is due to the amount of money spent on advertising, processing, and promotions. When raw product costs increase companies can back off their marketing spends to a degree and soften the blow to the consumer. In developing countries there is no margin for a farmer to work with when selling to the consumer. Another reason is people in developed countries tend to eat more processed foods, where the ratio of raw materials is lower than that of the diet of people in underdeveloped countries. Lastly, in underdeveloped countries the average person spends more than half of their income on food whereas in the US the typical person spends 13% of their income on food.

So what does all of this mean to you and me? For me it is a reminder of our fortuitous position we have in the U.S. but also that the cushion or margin is getting thinner and thinner even for a developed country like the United States where a couple unfortunate events could possibly lead to a jump in price and make certain foods unattainable. I can’t but help think back to a couple years ago where gas prices nearly hit $4 a gallon and I sat there wising I could have somehow stockpiled a large storage that was purchased for $2 something a month or two earlier. While that may prove difficult to do that isn’t the case with food and water storage options that are available today, the flexibility afforded by dehydrated and freeze-dried food along with a wide variety of water storing options means that today I can get ready for possibly an expensive tomorrow.

According to Wikipedia, “Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying.”

As you read this, hopefully some of you have had the light turn on in regards to how this applies to emergency preparedness. Often times we find ourselves feeling “uncomfortable” whether that be because we live in Florida and we know that the area we live is prone to Hurricanes or we live in California and are prone to Earthquakes or possibly you live in the USA and your concerned about the current economic climate. Whatever the case may be there’s something inside that’s giving you an uneasy feeling.

This uncomfortable feeling is Cognitive Dissonance and it basically means that there’s conflict between your beliefs and your actions. In the case of emergency preparedness this is the conflict between feeling like you should be doing something to get prepared but you’re not taking the action to do anything about it.

In order to remove cognitive dissonance (the inner conflict) you either need to act on your feelings or you need to change your beliefs in regards to the emergency. Basically you either get educated and get prepared or you have to somehow convince yourself that there’s really no reason to get prepared, this convincing would have to be so deep and certain so as to remove any inner conflict. The likelihood of this is pretty slim. From a practical standpoint the realistic approach is to take action and get ready.

The Ready Store is committed to help you get there. Not only do we offer a wide array of emergency products but we also have several videos located through out the site intended to educate. Take advantage of the resources we have available and move yourself closer to getting full prepared!

The other day I was listening to sports radio while I worked at my desk. The radio personality started to talk about a blizzard that was coming in the afternoon and it caught me off guard because the local sports talking heads rarely mention the weather but were doing so throughout the day because the coming storm was projected to be the worst blizzard in decades and were trying to get the word out to everyone.

While we have some pretty decent storms that will come through and dump 12″ of snow on the valley floors this storm was to arrive right before the commute home. It got me thinking about my vehicle’s preparation level. Quickly I realized it wasn’t very good which is pretty sad considering I work in the emergency preparedness industry. All I had was a couple road flares, set of jumper cables, and a small first aid kit. What would have happened if I was snowed in on the freeway and the roads were closed due to lack of visibility? I started to think about the different items I might need to get through the night as comfortable as possible. Food, water, blanket, and a tow rope quickly came to mind not to mention many other items that could prove useful in this circumstance.

Luckily for me the storm didn’t come down as far south as originally thought and the wind gusts had little to no snow to churn up. Needless to say the near miss got me thinking and measures have been taken to assure that I am ready the next time I am out on the roads during a big storm.

Of course not everyone drives to work, people that use mass transit don’t have a trunk to store emergency supplies. We talk to companies everyday that are preparing for their employees in case a disaster strikes during work hours when staff is present but from my own personal experience I have to think these businesses are the exception, there are many more that are not prepared than there are that are ready to react to a disaster.

So what can you do? For one, ask your manager or the owner of the company what they are doing to prepare for the different emergencies that occur in your particular area (earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, floods, blizzards, ect). If the company isn’t preparing or currently prepared it doesn’t mean you can’t be, see if you can store a 72 hour kit loaded with food, water, and emergency supplies near your desk or somewhere else on site. These items are chosen for their utility but also for the compact size and light weight nature making it easy to move around.

TIPS for Emergency Preparedness on the Go

- Think about your specific area and the types of natural disasters. Also think about other possible scenarios like fire, flood, or possibly even terrorism.

- Look at emergency items and 72 hour kits to get an idea for what is out there with an eye towards your specific regional needs.

- Plan for the unexpected, after you plan for the typical things think hard about the not so common problems that can happen.

- Think about your storage options. Can you store products at work? Is your vehicle loaded with the necessary provisions?

- Think about having items that can help others or maybe just having more than you need. You may be out on a lunch break with your spouse when the disaster strikes, does your vehicle preparations have enough for two?

- Don’t forget food and water on the go. Having high calorie food bars, like those made by Datrex and Mainstay, and water made by Aquabox and Datrex will keep you fueled as you deal with the challenges of an emergency. These products’ shelf lifes are not affected by high temperatures like other foods, you will get the 5 year plus shelf life from them even if they are stored in a truck in 100 degree heat.

- Gene K., Product Development at The Ready Store