Let’s Get Started! How Will You Shelter?
There have been some changes in our household this year which means I will be posting less often but I will continue READY OR NOT every Tuesday night and as things come up I will post on facebook. During an emergency or in the lead up to a disaster in the making, I will post there as often as necessary to help. That may mean every hour or two but it will be there and/or in the yahoo group. If you are not a member of that group please join now if you don't have facebook so you can keep informed.
For those of you who missed READY OR NOT this week, shame on you. I introduced my plan for 2012. This year we are going to break down preparedness into specific areas which we will address for the month. There will be suggestions for things you can do that are free, some things that cost very little, and items that we can save for. We are going to begin with shelter because all the food and water in the world will do you no good if you can't survive the night.
There is so much to talk about but I want to spend a minute talking about food prices. I know this month we are concentrating shelter but I am very concerned about food prices and have to encourage you to continue working on your General Store. Please get your three month supply and then move on to storing longer term foods for a minimum of a year. It's so very important and if you did not complete your three month supply last year do it now, as fast as you can. Food prices are going up and let's face it, with the state of the economy food is the only thing we can count on retaining it's value. The world is consuming more food which will affect the cost of food for everyone world wide, more demand, higher prices. The real concern however, is the weather. This has been a terrible winter. Yes, it has. It has been much warmer and drier that most and definitely not what we expected from a La Nina year. We should be having above normal snow in the mid west and on the east coast. We should be having colder that normal temperatures in those same areas. We are not. This could mean severe water shortages in most of the country. On top of the drought experienced this past year this is really a devastating thought. Beef prices rose dramatically last year, as did peanut butter and other commodities. Can you afford for it to go up that much again, 23%?
Some years when we have a warm winter we have a terrible February with very cold temperatures and rain or snow every day. That sounds great but it really means flooding and a delay in planting crops. Delay means the risk that a late harvest will bring cold weather which will destroy the corps before they are ready to pick. Again, prices will go up. With half the fruits and vegetables we consume coming from California this is really awful news. We haven't had any rain here since September and our temperature have been above normal all season. Our water supplies are short and there is very, very little snow. Get busy storing food. Sacrifice in other areas, don't eat out, eat breakfast foods for dinner, take lunch to work and school, do whatever it takes.
Now for shelter. What are your plans for shelter should you experience a natural disaster? If you are planning to remain at home do you have the supplies and skills to repair your home and keep it safe? Consider the following.
The winds blow off the tiles on the roof. Do you have a ladder to reach, tarps, long screws and boards to secure the tarp?
If you had a flood do you have disinfectants to prevent mold from growing. Do you have the knowledge to know how to prevent mold? Do you have the tools and knowledge to remove carpeting, dry wall etc.?
If you live in snow country do you know how to prevent your roof from collapsing? Do you know how to keep gutters from backing up and causing water damage in your walls and ceilings? In other words do you have a long enough ladder to get to the roof, an industrial strength broom, flat snow shovel, gutter guards, and repair materials for a leaking gutter.
If you have a wind storm do you have a way to protect your windows and doors from blowing out? Could you protect your family from flying glass if you don't have the wood and screws to cover the windows fro the outside? Blankets, drapes and tarps attached around the inside of a window will all work to reduce the risk of flying glass.
If you are the bug out place for others can your home accommodate them? Do you have grab bars in the shower if you will be hosting an elderly relative? Do you child latches on cupboard doors and grates to keep pets and children from accessing areas of your home?
We always want to hunker down in our own home when possible so look around and prepare now for those things that will need to be done to keep your home safe.
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This is a good blog post. I'm not sure if you've heard about Marjory Wildcraft or not, but she teaches people about making your own gardens and becoming more prepared if a disaster strikes, which I feel goes along well with your topic. She's going to be on a radio blog show called EMPactRadio next Wednesday the 18th at noon Eastern Time. It should be really great to listen to. Here's the link if you want to read more about her and to listen to the show when it airs: http://empactradio.org/pvp/episode84-marjory-wildcraft/
Marjory has some great ideas. If you love her check out my interviews with her on Ready Or Not.
http://www.bepreparedradio.com/2011/05/23/ready-or-not-05-24-2011/
http://www.bepreparedradio.com/2011/04/01/ready-or-not-04-05-2011/
Thick 6-mil plastic sheeting also works well for temporarily patching holes in your house. It can also be used for a variety of other uses as well.