Hurricane Season…Food Storage Talk With Halli…Prepare Now and Make Better Decisions Later
This morning I did another blog talk radio show with Halli. It was all about the economy and food storage. Have a listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/idahotalk/2010/07/16/hfalli-friends
I never intended Totally Ready to become a food storage site but rather that food storage be a part of the preparations we are making to become Totally Ready for whatever comes. With the economy, job losses, the highest unemployment rate in history, unemployment benefits running out, foreclosures at an all time high and new taxes coming, food storage must, of necessity come to the forefront for at least a short time. We cannot however, forget that we must prepare to become self reliant in all things.
Hurricane season has begun and if the experts are correct it is predicted to be a severe one. For those who are here because they have caught the food storage bug I hope we can help you realize the importance of becoming aware of the things you can do now to help you to be better prepared when a disaster strike. Those who prepare not only survive at a much higher rate than those who do not but they thrive. During a crisis we don’t think clearly so the more we have thought about a disaster such as a fire or flood or hurricane the more ready we are to make wise, life saving, decisions.
Some of you may feel you can now stop reading since you don’t live in a hurricane prone area. Consider this, are you planning a vacation to an east coast, west coast, gulf coast state or Hawaii or a Caribbean island or Mexico this summer or fall? If you are you better be ready, just in case. What should you be doing now to prepare for hurricane season?
Prepare an emergency kit with food, water, clothing, a first aid kit and other supplies that you can grab and flee if you need to evacuate. We used to call these 72 hour kits because we believed relief agencies and the government would come to our aid in that amount of time. We now know that is not always the case.
Create an evacuation plan. If you should need to leave do you know where you will go. Have you made arrangements with that family member or friend so they know you will be coming and they agree to care for you. They will have some preparations to make now also so be courteous and discuss the possibility with them now.
Evacuation plans should include maps, not a GPS alone, with various routes out of the city marked ahead of time. During an evacuation some routes will be not much more than a parking lot and others will be close all together.
Compile a list of emergency phone numbers and place it in your car now. Send a copy of this list to the location to which you will be evacuating with numbers noted of people you want notified with your evacuation plans and progress. Family members will be concerned and having one person with whom you communicate will be a huge relief to you. It is then their job to notify everyone else.
Make arrangements for your pets. If you intend to evacuate to a shelter be sure they will allow pets.
Make those repairs to your home now. If you have loose shingles or outdoor light fixture fix it now. Cut down that dying tree before it it ends up in your living room. Stockpile sheets of wood and the nails necessary to attach them over windows before your exit.
Review your insurance policy to be sure you have included any new additions to your home or improvements or new furnishing to be sure they will be covered.
Do a home inventory. Take photos or use a video camera and make a record of all your possessions putting you at the head of the payment line.
Prepare a good car kit. We have talked about these many time so go back and check former post and newsletters for specifics.
Review the September 2009 Newsletter for evacuation tips, May 2010 for Escape Plan information and June 2010 for a list of items to include in an Auto Kit.
Once you have everything organized do a trial run. Throw all your most precious possessions, emergency kits, kids and pets into the car to see if you all fit. Really. I know a woman who loaded her car with photos, her computer, emergency kit, a few clothes and her dogs wouldn’t fit. Out came the photos and other family heirlooms and she evacuated. She lost her home and all those treasures. Do a trial run. If you don’t have room purchase a car top carrier or come up with another plan but once the hurricane, fire or flood is on it’s way it is too late.
Stash some cash. If you need to evacuate you may not be able to use a credit card as the rush of people all making charges on their cards will overload the system. If the power goes out there will only be the cash option. We have talked about this before but remember small bills, nothing bigger than a $10.00 bill.
Finally, at least for today never let your gas tank get below half a tank. This is so very important as gas stations will be out of gas quickly with thousands of cars leaving town. If you are vacationing, keep that tank full!
****Win a Consultation!***
To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.
Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.
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My discussion with Doctor Prepper all about food storage.http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/08/doctor-prepper-show
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Carolyn
I listened to your show with Halli Stone. Please get the facts right. The Feds have not shut drilling in the gulf.They shut down drilling to 33 exploratory wells. These wells are not producing oil. That is one reason our gas prices are lower. It is not affecting current supplies. Do I agree to the 6 mos part? No. I should think could do it well by well. I just want my state (Louisiana) not to be further impacted by another man-made disaster because a business cut corners. That is how those eleven rig workers lost their lives. Is not a ounce of prevention better than a pound for a cure?
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Thanks for listening. If I left the wrong impression I’m sorry. My point really was that most people, especially the young do not really understand how bad things can get and just how quickly it can happen. Gas prices have risen here over the past few weeks, every week. They inch up a few cents at a time until they are up 50 cents, then a dollar. Yes, this disaster was man made. The government did not do scheduled inspections and apparently neither did BP. Now we must all pay the price. All of this proves my point, this can come out of left field when we are not expecting it and it can happen quickly. So let’s all decide to retain the power we have to shape our own destiny and work toward self reliance.
Here, here!. Isn’t funny how here in Louisiana gas is stable at $2.51, but milk is $4.00/gal.
Also, I did not want to seem like I was getting on your case, sometimes things can be reported in such a way that facts become twisted. (Case in point, Ms. Sherrod @the USDA)Thanks for your efforts and insights, I share much within our self-reliant sisters group.
really good blog post, thank you!
Thanks for the posts. I love this site.