Let's Get Going! (week #2)

It's Tuesday again, and you know what that means! It's time to add some items to our current emergency preparedness project (the car kit), and we also need to add some food to our three-month supply.

Last week's assignment for the emergency car kit was to get a box to hold everything in. Please remember that if you have 2 cars, you should be making 2 kits! If you forgot to get a second box last week, just get it this week in addition to this week's items.

Water is essential to keep in your car, especially in the summer! Just last Saturday, Abs and I were out running some errands and they took MUCH longer than we thought they would, and we were out in the blazing heat for way too long. Fortunately, she had an emergency kit in her car, complete with water (which, amazingly, wasn't too warm to drink at all). Hopefully she remembered to replenish her supply when she got home!

I recommend having at least 1 bottle of water per seat in your car OR 2 bottles of water per however many people regularly ride in that car, whichever is more (for example, if you have only 2 people who regularly ride in your 5-seater car, store 5 bottles of water. However, if 4 people regularly ride in that car, store 8 bottles of water).

Granola bars, trail mix, and dried fruit are all good choices for high-energy snacks. It's hard to know exactly how much food to have in your kit, and hopefully you have a good sense of what will work for you. A box of 8-10 granola bars should be just fine, but if you think you need more than that, go for it. Just be sure that there isn't chocolate or anything else that might melt (not that there is anything wrong with melted chocolate!).

It's important to remember that these car kits are only the basics of what you should have, and it's easy to tailor these kits to suit your needs. If you live in a very hot area, more water might be good to have. During the winter, it would probably be smart to carry on an extra blanket or two.

And now for the three-month supply of food! Hopefully by now you have a designated food storage area in your home. Now, think about your grocery list and what you are making for dinner in the next several days. For ONE meal that you buy food for this week, DOUBLE the ingredients that you buy, and put that extra food away in your food storage! Ta-da, you have one meal in your food storage! Obviously, this won't work if all your meals are full of fresh ingredients. If that's the case, buy 1 box of pasta, a can of sauce, and a can of veggies or fruit. This constitutes one meal. If you don't like pasta, buy some rice and a gravy mix. If you need more ideas for good food storage meals, visit our Food Storage Friday link (on the righthand column of the page). Find a recipe you like, and buy those ingredients this week and set them aside (I know, as of today there is only 1 recipe, but you get the idea).

I hope this helps. Now for the big question... did you all find places to keep your food storage? I cleaned out my guest room closet and put some freestanding shelves in. Where will yours be???