Reminder of a lesson learned

Just about a year ago, we had a national #1 priority wildfire near our doorstep -- quite literally. Many of our friends and relatives were in mandatory evacuation areas. We had 2 people w/dogs and cat living in our guestroom until we were notified for 'pre-evacuation.  So what were some lessons learned? My personal one was a major flaw in past preparedness planning.  I had prepared based on the belief that normal duties, especially going to the office, would cease.  WRONG. Turns out many scheduled vacations were cancelled so we could help out in case the nearby military installation had to be evacuated. A work wardrobe was not in my GO!bag.  I figured out how to get 6 or 7 outfits from a skirt, pair of trousers, 3 or 4 shirts and 2 jackets in case we, too were evacuated but needed to keep working.  It was a bit easier for me because my work wardrobe was already simplified around a basic color and matching scheme. (Solid color skirts, trousers and jackets with contrasting or patterned blouses)

The lesson I learned from those with very short and urgent evacuation notices was to PLAN AHEAD or at least think ahead.  More than one person indicated that they were sufficiently shocked or panicked that they couldn't make decisions about what to load.  In more than one case that meant everything burned. One very sad situation early in the fire, when it flared fast and furiously beyond the Forest Service prediction,  had many homes threatened with barely enough time to get out.  An evacuee staying next door summed it up: I had enough time to grab my purse and the cat, call the dog, load them up and I watched my house burn in the rear view as I left. She literally lost everything but the ground her house was built on. She may not have had time to grab the box of [insert your most important/precious possessions] but you may have a smidgen more time if it happens to you.

Plan ahead and don't forget to prioritize. It might even be smart to make a list, because your brain may not engage when reality triggers the 'plan.'  If you don't have room in your vehicle for both the family china and the painting from Grandma Jones, which is more important to you? Will sacrificing the china mean you will have room for two more important boxes? I also heard a few evacuees stressing because they grabbed the 'X' and were kicking themselves for not taking the 'Y' instead. About 60 of them who lost their homes never had the chance for a do-over.

New Reader Orientation

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. Thanks also to Stephen for the greeting and links. 

If you are a seasoned preparedness guru, but have friends or relatives who are just now catching on, this blog is tailored to that level of effort. Expert-level preppers may not find lot of new or interesting info here, but it's an easy reference for you to share with the novices you know. Baby steps.

There's a method to this blog's organization, so I'll try to explain.

Some preparedness basics and ideas on how to be prepared without blowing your budget are in the pages across the top of the HOME. 

Prep 101 is baby steps for those who are not sure where to start or are paralyzed by the idea. If likened to home decor, think pink or yellow with ducks and bunnies.

Prudent Reserve is about determining what you need to take care of yourself and family in a more personal emergency --  and finding cost-effective ways of gathering and preserving the resources for such a situation. Soon after I learned the concept and met my first goal of 2 months' prudent reserve, I was in a car accident and was disabled for... 2 months!  Amazing how all that works out!

Resources provides a few ideas on finding ways to add to your preparedness without breaking the bank.  I need to update a few of the items, but the basics are there. It could be as simple as taking advantage of buy-one-get-one offers and keeping the 'free' one in your preparedness supplies.  I get my prescriptions filled at K-Mart, accrue 'points' and cash them in for non-perishable grocery items for my prudent reserve food storage-- a small benefit from purchases I made anyway.

Favorites is where I share some of my favorite sources for good buys, good books, reuse tips and just miscellaneous ideas about stretching your everyday resources. When you reduce, reuse and recycle or re-purpose things, it will leave you with time, money or other resources to gather and store your preparedness items.

The blog posts are to provide updates, jog your mind, and share new information before it goes onto a page. For example, I shared the 'bountiful baskets' info in a post, then added it to Resources so it is available more easily.

I hope this is helpful.

So much to tell!

It was a hard winter for me. Sorry to have been away so long. I have much to write and post and plan to get to it in about a month. I will be retiring from work soon so will have the time and energy to tell you. In the interim, here is a little goody. There is a wonderful program called 'Bountiful Baskets' that is available in many communites. If you are not aware, the website is: http://bountifulbaskets.org/

Some good news: Learning to use food storage

Some of my food storage is the longer-term stuff, like if you were in CT and didn't have power for a few weeks, and then lost it again!  This stuff comes in #10 cans, so opening one is a major commitment, not to be taken lightly!

One of my favorite sellers has started selling smaller cans (real metal cans) of some of the most popular ingredients.  They average $5 a can, which is not a bad price to learn how to use the stuff and to have some on hand without the major commitment of buying a #10 can.  I have experimented with a couple of products as a result.

First one was chopped dehydrated onions.  They are great. Unlike the ones in the grocery store that cost about$5 for half an ounce, these are not as dry and rehydrate into pretty regular chopped raw onions. They saute and turn golden brown just fine. I'm sold because they also don't make you cry.

Second item was 'butter powder.' Sure, powdered butter -- or so I thought.  No juke, this stuff is great but you must follow directions!  After my first try I read and followed the instructions.  It was butter! It even MELTED on a hot biscuit, unlike even some of the grocery-store products.  I would NEVER have bought or opened a $20 dollar can of butter powder to find out thislittle fact, but could afford $5 worth of experiment.  I now use both opened products in my regular cooking, or will until the cans are empty. It's nice not to have onions that are too far gone (surprise!) or butter that has taken on new flavors after sitting in the fridge a while. I'm thinking these cans may actually be more 'frugal' than I thought at first, as they may reduce the wasted regular items that sat too long on my shelf.

Recent lessons learned

There is such a thing as being too frugal. I crossed that line recently, but was fortunate that I did not pay dearly for it.  I bought a product over the internet that was a great deal for what was described.  The 'cans' of product were about half the price of other similar items.  $40 plus postage later, I had the items. I could have lived with the fact that the pictures on the internet made the 'cans' look a lot like #10 cans, which they were not.  What I couldn't live with was that the 'cans' were cardboard sleeves. Not exactly a long-term food storage item.

Even in our low humidity, the product may have lasted a year. That did not fit my needs.  I e-mailed the seller, who stood by the merchandise and provided a full refund, including the cost of  return shipping. What I learned is to stick with my tried and true suppliers, be patient and wait for their sales and specials, and not go through this type of discovery to save a few bucks.  I wasted a couple of hours of my time, some gas for the truck, and didn't save a nickel -- which was not what I planned.

What have I done to prepare this YEAR?

Yup, National Preparedness Month reminds us to get with or stay with a program that will allow us to be somewhat self-sufficient while waiting for FEMA or other assistance in the event of a natural or man-caused disaster.

If you are new to home or family preparedness, FEMA and your state or local preparedness websites provide the basic information for getting started. My pages also have a guide to identifying priorities, setting goals and starting your process without breaking the bank.

So what did I do? First, I learned from my mistakes. We had two small but meaningful emergencies in my part of the world. One was a record-breaking cold-snap. We live in a community whose natural-gas was shut off to keep other lines pressurized so that other commmunites could have gas. We are near of the 'ends of the lines' so probably would not have had ehough pressure to heat anyway. Temps were below freezing for more than 36 consecutive hours, which is very rare in the desert southwest. Oops. Not prepared to heat my house without gas. Oops, during the process I realized I needed the electric too -- which we had but it was a good realization that without both, no heat. With no woodstove or fireplace, we bought a Buddy indoor portable propane heater. Not the best solution as it will heat about 2 of our rooms, but it will help keep the pipes from bursting next time and it was under $100 including a few small canisters of propane.

Second emergency was a world-class forest fire. Unlike most of us locals ever imagined, it jumped the highway and burned down in-town homes. We were briefly under evacuation order, but the Feds got the fire under control before we finished packing the car. OK, needed a new plan for that contingency!

We also paid off all our credit card debt! There wasn't much left, but it still felt good. That leaves us with just the mortgage. Then we can start saving for a new or newer vehicle.

I rotated my supplies (oops, some peanut butter with over due 'best by' dates). I bought a telephone that works without being plugged in to the 110 outlet. I packed an emergency kit in my car trunk (during the fire!) -- especially a pair of walking shoes and water jug to get home from work if there is a problem on the roads. I also had my office pay for enough jugs of water for each employee to have 72 hours of drinking water. I also sent an e-mail suggesting that each of us keep several meals of non-perishable food (mouse-proof, of course) in our desks, just in case.

Those are my highlights.

How about you?

What have YOU done to prepare this YEAR?

It's National Preparedness Month once again! What have you done since the last one? Reduced your debt? Stored some provisions? Made a contingency plan based on your most likely emergency situations? Increased your rainy-day fund? Moved from a place that has a high occurrance of natural disasters?

If you read this post, please comment on your accomplishments.