January 01, 2008 10 Comments

I think it is important to talk about our goals for Seven Steps. Simply stated we want to think of this as a marathon. There is a lot of ground to cover, but if we pace ourselves we will reach our goals to:

1. Prepare for unexpected natural, medical and terrorism disasters.

2. Ensure our family is safe at home, school, at work, and on the road.

3. Have a financial cushion stashed away.

The government has advised us to be prepared with food, water and other supplies to care for our family’s needs for a minimum of 72 hours, and up to 3 months in the case of a pandemic. The job market is becoming more and more competitive and requiring more skills and education all the time. Job loss, a house fire, burglaries, power outages, unexpected household repairs, and illness can affect all of us. We will prepare with all of this is mind.

Our first seven steps:

1. Make a list of replacements for items that use electricity. Get out the binder and note paper you gathered. Fold a piece of paper in half length wise. At the top of the left column write Uses Electricity, at the top of the right column write Replacements. Now write in all the items in your home that you listed as needing electricity (skip a line between each item -you will need the room).

Across from each item list what you will need to replace that service. My list includes: lights, refrigerator, freezer, oven, stove, dishwasher, well, washer, dryer, shower, furnace, air conditioner, radio, TV, telephone, clock, and can opener. I didn’t list things like a hair dryer because I can live without that. We have a well so when that goes out we are also without water, including for the shower. We have a gas range but it has an electric ignition so it won’t light without matches. So across from stove I wrote matches. Across from lights I wrote: glow sticks, flashlights, candles, and outdoor lighting (You know those solar landscape lights? You can bring those in at night and recharge them during the day.) Anything I forgot? Share your list with us.

2. Get a quart canning jar or other container and beginning today to empty your change in to the jar each night. This would be fun to do at dinner to help your family understand the concept of saving. You’ll be surprised, your children will want to join in too. It is amazing how quickly this will grow and trust me, you will not miss it. I have saved from $10.00 to $40.00 in a month.

3. Purchase or collect the items you will need to replace the loss of lighting and news access during a power outage. Make sure you have batteries if you are relying on flashlights for lighting needs, or portable radios, or your lap top to stay in touch. Store your batteries with your flashlights etc. but not in them. I like glow sticks because they are inexpensive, don’t need batteries, will provide light all night long without the dangers of a candle, and they can be worn by children to keep them safe as they wander around the house. I keep glow sticks in every room within easy reach so no matter where I am it is easy to have light quickly. During a recent storm we hung them on all the doorknobs so everyone knew exactly where to go if the power failed.

4. Go through your medications and discard any that are past the expiration date. Make a list of items you need to replace and post it next to your shopping list, watch the ads and purchase the items as they go on sale. Medications in pill or tablet form are good for a year after the expiration date. Liquid meds I would discard as they do not hold as well.

5. Place a light source next to every bed. If there were an earthquake or power outage during the night a flashlight or glow stick would help to keep your family safe. Since young children would be tempted to play with these items place these in the rooms of older, more responsible children.

6. Get a permanent marker and mark all the canned fruits and veggies you have in your cupboard with a X. Make a master list of what you have on hand.

7. Print off the list of items to include in every good 72 hour kit and add it to your binder.

I have not forgotten that I asked you to date all your opened containers of items you purchase only occasionally. Label a page in your binder Items purchased Infrequently. List items and as you use them up and need to replace them note the date on the item and how long it took to empty it. Write this on your list. Now you can gauge how many of that item you will need in your three month food storage. If it took 1 week to use a tube of toothpaste you will need 12 tubes for a 3 month supply.

Now, go get started. Check in and let us know how you are doing. We want to hear all of your success stories and even your frustrations so we can support and learn from each other!

One more note: As a way to help you find and afford items we recommend we would like to share a special discount to Seven Steps-to preparedness participants. Visit www.TotallyReady.com and enter the code 7S128 at checkout, to receive an additional 10% discount on all purchases.

Before the Disaster, Food storage, Seven Steps

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