Before The Disaster Strikes

Earthquake Drill

Are you prepared? I hear this question more frequently and I feel an urgency that we need to be able to answer "yes" to this question. I found a step-by-step guide to help you have all the essentials ready in an emergency. Hopefully you will only need to accomplish a few of these, but it has quite a bit of useful information.

Personal & Family Preparedness

Before the Disaster Strikes
"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear," D&C 38:30

1.Establish a system for knowing where your family members are in an emergency. Where will you meet?
2. Know how to contact community resources such as fire, police and ambulance services.
3. Have and maintain fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, gas/carbon monoxide alarms. Know how to use them and place them in effective places.
4. Know how to shut off the gas, electricity, and water to your house. Have the proper wrenches or tools available to use on these connections.
5. Prepare and have conveniently available a 72-hour kit of food, water, and first aid supplies.
6. Have available various kinds of clothing, blankets, fuel, tools, and useful things to repair to keep your house operating properly or livable.
7. Find and keep in a safe kind of storage: important documents, identity papers, papers that establish your accounts at banks, ret. funds, social security,etc.
8. Keep other personal valuables in some kind of safe fire proof container. Have it handy so you can get all of these kinds of things out to safe places an quickly.
9. Store and rotate a year's supply of food, water and fuel of various kinds, (wood/coal for the fireplace, fuel for your gas stove, propane for the bbq, kerosene for a heater, batteries for flashlights, etc.)
10. Get your hand on food seed of every kind, lots of them. Store them in a cool, dry place. (vacuum seal in a jar)
11. Develop some useful skills from the Red Cross, know CPR, take some classes if possible, in life saving, and first aid. Consider the CERT class program.
12. Know ahead of time, and have some communication devices if possible to report your condition and status to your family, civil authorities, neighbors, or block captains.
13. Get your financial affairs in order. Get OUT of debt a.s.a.p!! Have some cash on hand, at least several hundred dollars. Have it in small bills and coins. (Don't have several $100 gold pieces, that is hard to breakup for everyday goods)
14. Get a portable gas/propane generator, 3500 watts or more. You will be able to save the food stuffs in your freezer and refrigerator, even power your furnace.

LAST ITEM......keep quiet about all the provisions you have. Remember TMI.... (too much information)

Don't forget about the September goals.....

SEPTEMBER GOALS:

Case Lot Sales: This is the month for case lot sales at most grocery stores. It is a great time to stock up on items that you will use all year long. I love to get broth, cream soups, chicken noodle soup, canned fruit, mandarin oranges, honey, paper towel, toilet paper, etc. If you missed the Smiths sale don't worry, Maceys sale starts on the 29th and continues until the 13th of Oct.

Fruit: The recommended amount of fruit for a one year storage is 185lbs per person. This is a great month to get canned fruit at the case lot sales. Dehydrating fruit is another way to store fruit. Tell your friends and neighbors that you will take their extra bounty off their hands for them. Then you can dehydrate the fruit and store it is mason jars that are vacuum sealed with a Food Saver. Think of things like raisins, canned mandarin oranges, canned pears & peaches, dried apples, etc.

Non-Food Goal: Sewing Supplies-This month you will need to collect thread, scissors, needles, buttons, zippers and extra fabric. We could see a time when we will be wearing and using our clothing items a lot longer than we are used to. Kids grow fast and knowing how to sew and repair clothing will be a necessity.


Enjoy the Journey!
Enjoy the Blessings!

Feel the Peace!

Grocery Deals & Grab-n-Go List!

Would you be ready to evacuate your home in 5 minutes? Herriman residents were asked to do this and we need to take note of what happened and BE PREPARED!!! Today, write a list of the items that you would need to grab-and-go. This is called a grab-and-go list and should be posted in several places in your home. Have a trial run with your family and have your 72-hour kits ready and accessible. Don't procrastinate, do it today!!!

Grocery deals are slim this week. I wanted to mention that if you haven't been shopping for your 3-month supply, you could get many items in one stop and save a lot of money by shopping at Winco. They are located on 7200 S. just west of I-15. I LOVE this store. Many canned and boxed goods are the same price as the case lots sales. Their bulk bin area will save you money on spices, cocoa powder, pastas,etc. Produce is also cheaper in general at Winco. If you are ever out that way I would stop in and take a look. I will make my shopping list for about a month and then shop at Winco.

The following amounts are what a person or family would need for a year storage. I only show these so you understand what it will take for a family to live off of storage. Work on your 3-month storage until that is complete and then work toward the year long storage.
PP=per person and PF=per family

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 185LBS EACH PF (fresh, canned, and dehydrated)
MEATS 20LBS PP(frozen, canned and fresh)
DAIRY 16LBS PP
GRAINS 300LBS PP (this includes pastas, cereals, crackers, rice, oats, wheat and flour)
OILS & FATS 25LBS PP (salad dressings, peanut butter, shortening, butter, mayonnaise, and oils)
SUGAR 60LBS PP (honey, white sugar, powdered and brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, jams & jellies, flavored gelatin, and powdered drink mix)
WATER 14 + GALLONS PP FOR 2 WEEKS

**REMEMBER THAT I ONLY LIST THE DEALS THAT I FEEL ARE THE BEST PRICES.

• CANTALOUPE .39LB
• KROGER COTTAGE CHEESE, SOUR CREAM, DIPS .88EA
• BREYERS ICE CREAM $2.48
• MICHELINAS ENTREES .88

• APPLES .89LB
• CANTALOUPE .33LB
• YELLOW ONIONS .49LB
• SIRLOIN PORK CHOPS OR ROAST BONE-IN $1.59LB
• SHUR SAVING MILK $1.89
• WF PASTA 22OZ .99
• WF SALAD DRESSING 16OZ .99

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH MEAT SALE

• LEAN GROUND BEEF SOLD IN 2LB CHUB $1.79LB
• OVEN RUMP ROAST BONELESS $1.79LB
• SANDERSON FARMS WHOLE CHICKEN FRYER .89LB

SEPTEMBER GOALS:

Case Lot Sales: This is the month for case lot sales at most grocery stores. It is a great time to stock up on items that you will use all year long. I love to get broth, cream soups, chicken noodle soup, canned fruit, mandarin oranges, honey, paper towel, toilet paper, etc. Smiths stores start on the 8th and Macey's starts at the end of the month on the 29th.

Fruit: The recommended amount of fruit for a one year storage is 185lbs per person. This is a great month to get canned fruit at the case lot sales. Dehydrating fruit is another way to store fruit. Tell your friends and neighbors that you will take their extra bounty off their hands for them. Then you can dehydrate the fruit and store it is mason jars that are vacuum sealed with a Food Saver. Think of things like raisins, canned mandarin oranges, canned pears & peaches, dried apples, etc.

Non-Food Goal: Sewing Supplies-This month you will need to collect thread, scissors, needles, buttons, zippers and extra fabric. We could see a time when we will be wearing and using our clothing items a lot longer than we are used to. Kids grow fast and knowing how to sew and repair clothing will be a necessity.

Enjoy the Journey!
Enjoy the Blessings!
Feel the Peace!

Water 101

This month we are storing fruit, sewing supplies, and shopping the great case lot sales. It is the half way point of the month and I hope you are making great progress with this month's goals.

I am going to veer off from this month's goals to talk about water. Water is one of the most important storage items, yet for whatever reason it is often neglected. Many water storage barrels take up a lot of room, but many containers may be used for water storage. Store water only in food-grade plastic containers. Some containers like milk jugs will degrade over time, look for the PETE symbol on the bottom of the container. Soda bottles, 
Gatorade, Powerade, and laundry detergent bottles (for cleaning) can all be used to store water.

Before storing your water you must sanitize the container. Add 1 teaspoon of bleach (with no additives or scents) to one quart of water. After sanitizing your container fill with water, it is not necessary to treat the tap water that is already chlorinated. Store water in a cool, dark place to inhibit bacteria.

As with all emergency preparation it is a good idea to have a Plan A, Plan B, and a Plan C and have all the necessary supplies and skills that go with those plans. This also applies to water storage and purifying it. If you plan on boiling water you will need fuel, and if you have no fuel you will need a plan B. It is a good idea to double up on the purification options. Better to be safe than sorry!

In an emergency situation you must presume that ALL water is contaminated and NOT SAFE to be consumed! Before purifying the water it is a good idea to strain it through layers of paper towel or coffee filters to remove large particles. There are several ways to purify water.

Boiling-
Boiling is the most common and most recommended way to purify water. Bring water to a rolling boil for 3 minutes. The longer you boil the better chance of eliminating organisms and bacteria. As the water cools, stir it once a minute to mix air into it, which will help any bad taste.

Bleach-
Disinfecting with household bleach kills some, but no all, types of bacteria and organisms. The bleach MUST contain chlorine in order to work. Don't use bleach with additives, or scents, and the chlorine content will evaporate within a year so plan on rotating it yearly.
Add 8 drops of bleach for each gallon of water and stir well. Cover and let stand 3o minutes. Check and if there isn't a chlorine smell, repeat the dosage and let sit 15 more minutes. Double the amount of chlorine if the water is cloudy, colored or if the water is extremely cold.

Iodine-
This is less effective than bleach, but is better than no treatment at all. Add 5 drops of 2% iodine to every quart/liter of clear water. Add 10 drops if the water is cloudy and let the solution stand for at least 30 minutes.

Water Filters-
There are two different kids of filters. The gravity-based systems (Aquarian & Berkey) and the water bottle filter. The gravity-based systems are very good at purifying water but are expensive, while the water bottle filter can travel easier and are relatively affordable. (click here to see the filter the Church endorses) It is recommended that 2 drops of chlorine or iodine be used with the water bottles.



I strongly urge everyone to have a water storage in place and have several back-up plans to filter your water. You can only survive about 3 days without water and it is the first thing your family will be asking for in an emergency. Don't let another week go by without storing SOME kind of water. Every Tuesday at Harmons you can purchase 2 24packs of water for $1.99! That is a great stock up price! If you are close to a Harmons store on a Tuesday you have a perfect invitation to purchase bottled water!
SEPTEMBER GOALS:

Case Lot Sales: This is the month for case lot sales at most grocery stores. It is a great time to stock up on items that you will use all year long. I love to get broth, cream soups, chicken noodle soup, canned fruit, mandarin oranges, honey, paper towel, toilet paper, etc. Smiths stores start on the 8th and Macey's starts at the end of the month on the 29th.

Fruit: The recommended amount of fruit for a one year storage is 185lbs per person. This is a great month to get canned fruit at the case lot sales. Dehydrating fruit is another way to store fruit. Tell your friends and neighbors that you will take their extra bounty off their hands for them. Then you can dehydrate the fruit and store it is mason jars that are vacuum sealed with a Food Saver. Think of things like raisins, canned mandarin oranges, canned pears & peaches, dried apples, etc.

Non-Food Goal: Sewing Supplies-This month you will need to collect thread, scissors, needles, buttons, zippers and extra fabric. We could see a time when we will be wearing and using our clothing items a lot longer than we are used to. Kids grow fast and knowing how to sew and repair clothing will be a necessity.

Enjoy the Journey!
Enjoy the Blessings!
Feel the Peace!

Case Lot Sales

STOCK UP WHEN ITEMS ARE ON SALE!!

That is your mission this month. September is case lot sale month and you have the chance to buy food almost as low as coupon users can get with a good sale and a coupon. Don't buy only one item this month, buy a few or a whole case. Only purchase items that your family will use and stay within your budget. This month one of our goals is to store fruit. Now is the time to buy canned peaches, pears, and mandarin oranges at the case lot sales.

If you would like to view a great price comparison list, click HERE to download or print a Case Lot Price Comparison list from preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com. You will find the link in the box on the left side of the blog under case lot sales. I keep this list in my purse so I can check prices often.

I don't have prices as of yet, but Smiths sales start on the 8th. Look for these items:

Canned tomatoes
Broth
Canned fruit
Creamed Soups
Canned mushrooms
Tomato sauce
Spaghetti Sauce
Pasta
Paper Towel
Toilet paper
Ramen noodles
Honey
55-Gallon water containers (at Macey's)
Cake mixes and brownie mixes

I will post the prices on Wednesday! Are you excited as I am? (probably not, but that's ok)

SEPTEMBER GOALS:

Case Lot Sales: This is the month for case lot sales at most grocery stores. It is a great time to stock up on items that you will use all year long. I love to get broth, cream soups, chicken noodle soup, canned fruit, mandarin oranges, honey, paper towel, toilet paper, etc. Smiths stores start on the 8th and Macey's starts at the end of the month on the 29th.

Fruit: The recommended amount of fruit for a one year storage is 185lbs per person. This is a great month to get canned fruit at the case lot sales. Dehydrating fruit is another way to store fruit. Tell your friends and neighbors that you will take their extra bounty off their hands for them. Then you can dehydrate the fruit and store it is mason jars that are vacuum sealed with a Food Saver. Think of things like raisins, canned mandarin oranges, canned pears & peaches, dried apples, etc.

Non-Food Goal: Sewing Supplies-This month you will need to collect thread, scissors, needles, buttons, zippers and extra fabric. We could see a time when we will be wearing and using our clothing items a lot longer than we are used to. Kids grow fast and knowing how to sew and repair clothing will be a necessity.

Enjoy the Journey!
Enjoy the Blessings!
Feel the Peace!

Recipes Using Grains

It's the end of the month and I hope you were all able to complete this month's goals of grains, school supplies and recipes containing grains. I thought I would share some recipes with you that use the ingredients from our goals this month. I am always on the lookout for new recipes and I found all of these recipes at allrecipes.com. All Recipes has a way to search the recipes by a certain ingredient at the top of their home page. I found all of these recipes by typing in the ingredient word like cornmeal, and pasta and then rice, and every recipe with those ingredients were found. (there are a lot!) These are the recipes that I found and thought would work good with food storage.

image from food.com

Low-Fat Alfredo Sauce
 8oz Fettuccine pasta cooked
1 C milk
2 T flour
1 C cottage cheese (I use low fat)
1/2 t garlic powder
3 t minced onion
salt and pepper
1/2 C Parmesan cheese
2 C cooked, diced chicken

In a food processor blend all but the chicken and pasta. Heat sauce in pan and add chicken and pasta. This recipe is a great base recipe and you can add many other spices to fit your taste buds. The sauce also doesn't get as creamy as real Alfredo sauce since it is a lighter version.

Berry Cornmeal Muffins
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 C cornmeal
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 T baking powder
1 C milk
1/2 C butter melted (can substitute 1/2 C white bean puree)
1 egg
1 C berries (frozen, fresh, or dehydrated)

Mix all ingredients together. If you use frozen berries you will need to dredge the berries in the flour so they don't bleed while cooking. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Let the muffins sit for 10 minutes before taking them out of the pan.

Salsa Chicken and Rice
1lb chicken cubed
taco seasoning
1 T oil
1/4 t salt and pepper
1 can chicken broth
1 8oz jar salsa (any hotness you prefer)
2 C instant rice
8oz shredded cheddar

Dip the diced chicken into the taco seasoning and brown in the oil, salt, and pepper until juices run clear. Add the broth, salsa, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off heat and add rice. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover. Let sit 5 minutes.
(I use regular rice so I let it simmer longer and I also add 1 can of black beans and 1 can of corn. I serve this with tortillas and sometimes with tortilla chips)
August Goals:

GRAINS: 300lbs per person per year (that is a minimum amount) We added oats in Feb. and wheat in June so in Aug. we are adding pasta, rice, cereals, corn (cornmeal), and granola bars (they happen to be on sale in Aug. for school time).

cereal: 10 boxes per person per year
cornmeal: 10lbs per person per year
pasta: 40lbs per person per year
rice: 40lbs per person per year

**Remember that the amounts are only recommended amounts and you need to store what your family will use.

Non-Food Goal: Purchase school supplies to have on hand. Having extra scissors, paper, and pens will come in handy.

This month you will need to collect RECIPES that use pasta, rice, cornmeal, wheat, and oats. Keep the recipes in a box or notebook and try them out before you decided they are a keeper. This is also a great way to rotate and use your food storage.

Enjoy the journey!
Enjoy the blessings!
Feel the peace!

On a side note: I found the funniest post on why you should have a Mormon friend-Hoarder Edition. Click HERE to read the funny post. It is food storage related and lets us laugh at ourselves. :)

Recipe Binder

One of the most daunting tasks in life is cooking dinner every single night. With 5 children I have to have dinner prepared nightly. The reason it is so daunting is my children don't like to eat the same meal over and over, and just trying to think of what to cook is overwhelming. Having a variety of recipes and ingredients on hand eliminates the repetition and headache of what's for dinner.


I found a system of organizing recipes that works for me, a recipe binder, and it also is how I build my food storage. Being able to prepare a variety of meals with your food storage will eliminate appetite fatigue in an emergency. It has been found that people will quit eating altogether instead of eating the same food over and over. (click on the pictures for a larger view)

The first step in getting organized is to know what recipes your family enjoys. I sat down one afternoon and wrote down every recipe that my family likes and it came out to 5 weeks worth of meals. I wrote down every meal on a calendar type page and put it in a plastic sheet protector. This will be the first page in your binder.

Every dinner will have it's own individual page with the whole recipe written down with any side dishes also written out. This eliminates having to find recipes from different sources. Each page will also go in a plastic page protector. This way you can take out a page if you don't want to use it anymore and insert a new recipe. This method allows you to change your recipes whenever you feel like it.

Now it's time to make the grocery list. Since every recipe is written out for you with all the ingredients, it is really easy to make a shopping list. Write down every ingredient and the amount from every recipe into sections like produce, meats, frozen, etc. This now becomes your food storage list too. You know exactly how much chicken or carrots you will need for all of your meals. When these ingredients go on sale at stock up prices you will know how much to purchase. This method allows you to save money as well because you are buying a lot of one item as its lowest price. You will start to notice the prices of the items that you use and you'll know when to stock up. Before this method I did weekly shopping trips and bought what was on my menu plan for that week. Using the binder method I only buy the items at stock up prices. I watch the grocery ads for the items that are on my menu plan list. This way I am building my stockpile and getting the lowest price at the same time.

One of the things I noticed when writing down all of my recipes was that a lot of the ingredients crossed over into other meals. This makes it easy to store the food that my family will eat. I also store canned or dehydrated foods to substitute for the fresh ingredients so that I can still make the same recipe without it being too different. I love this system because if I don't fell like making what is scheduled for a certain night I can swap with another night because I have all the ingredients on hand. I also eliminate the 4:30 panic of what's for dinner. Give it a try and see how easy it is to have dinner prepared every night and have your pantry full of ingredients.

August Goals:

GRAINS: 300lbs per person per year (that is a minimum amount) We added oats in Feb. and wheat in June so in Aug. we are adding pasta, rice, cereals, corn (cornmeal), and granola bars (they happen to be on sale in Aug. for school time).

cereal: 10 boxes per person per year
cornmeal: 10lbs per person per year
pasta: 40lbs per person per year
rice: 40lbs per person per year

**Remember that the amounts are only recommended amounts and you need to store what your family will use.

Non-Food Goal: Purchase school supplies to have on hand. Having extra scissors, paper, and pens will come in handy.

This month you will need to collect RECIPES that use pasta, rice, cornmeal, wheat, and oats. Keep the recipes in a box or notebook and try them out before you decided they are a keeper. This is also a great way to rotate and use your food storage.

Enjoy the journey!
Enjoy the blessings!
Feel the peace!

On a side note: I found the funniest post on why you should have a Mormon friend-Hoarder Edition. Click HERE to read the funny post. It is food storage related and lets us laugh at ourselves. :)

Rice

Rice, I love rice, my kids love rice, and since it is one food that everyone at my table will eat, we eat it a lot.

Click HERE to view a very good post on rice written by the Pleasant Grove stake.

They define rice and also have some great recipes to go along with it.