Frugal Disaster Prep
We all know that we are supposed to have some sort of disaster preparedness kit or plan in place, and that's a very smart thing to do. However, you must realize that there is no way to be prepared enough for a disaster like Katrina, which was an unprecedented event in this country's history, or one like the earthquake in Haiti, which hadn't had an earthquake like that in 200 years. When it hit, buildings crumbled to dust, walls fell on vehicles, and even if anybody had had a disaster preparedness kit, it's unlikely it survived the quake or was accessable.
Consider these synonyms for unprecedented: aberrant, abnormal, anomalous, bizarre, singular, unexampled, unheard-of, unparalleled, unrivaled, unusual, atypical, deviant, unthinkable, unexpected.
One dictionary defines it as "Having no previous example."
Your best asset under such conditions is simply going to be your faith in God and the ability to think creatively and utilize the unofficial motto of both the Marines and the Coast Guard- "We who have done so much with so little for so long can now do anything with nothing."
Flexibility also helps- practice now, regularly brainstorming your way through making do, making substitutions, using what's in your hand, figuring out how to make substitutions. It's a good habit to develop under any circumstances.
Another useful skill is knowledge- learn what's edible and wild in your area. Learn where things are. Learn how to do useful things.
But just in case your kit does survive whatever disaster or emergency strikes, it's best to plan something extra and physical as well.
Water: We usually have 2 litre bottles of water in our freezer. The idea is that a freezer would likely survive an earthquake or even a fire, or pretty much anything. They'll also help keep the contents cold if our 'disaster' is merely a power outage (we've been without power for a week or two before, due to snowstorms). Right now we do not have the bottles in the freezer because we had to make room for a deer that somebody gave us.
You can also, in a pinch, use water in toilet tanks (not the bowl, though you might let a pet drink it) if you don't put the blue stuff in. You have a hot water heater, and it, too, will have water you can use if you can drain it.
If you can buy a water filter, purifer kit, or put bleach or purifying pills in your disaster kit to use to purify contaminated water, that would also be good.
Food: The thing about food is it has to be food you eat, and you need to eat your 'disaster' food and replace it regularly to keep it fresh. There are special foods survivalists buy. We rely on our pantry, which usually contains some canned foods, powdered milk, peanut butter, dehydrated potato flakes, nuts, raisins- things that do not *have* to be cooked. Use coupons and shop sales for items for your emergency stash- power bars, granola bars, pop tarts, and so forth are pretty self explanatory. Another food I keep in my freezer (usually) is bean flours.
I use a whisper mill to make my bean flours, but I have just read that you can use an ordinary coffee bean grinder. I haven't tried it, yet, but it's worth checking it out and seeing if you can make some bean flours- these are instant proteins. You can make creamy soups if you can boil water, or instant refried beans.
I have recipes for bean flours here.
Other foods to consider:
Ramen Noodles- these don't even need to be cooked. They eat them raw as a snack, like chips, in Hawaii, and probably other places as well. You gently crunch up the noodles while still in the bag. Then you open one end of the bag and pull out the foil seasoning packet. Sprinkle about half of the seasoning packet over the dry noodles in the bag. SAve the other half packet of seasoning- you can add that to bean soups, instant mashed potatoes, and use it for seasoning soups, broths, and meat if you are so lucky as to have meat to cook. Eat the dried ramen noddle bits with your fingers, just like chips.
Tofu in asceptic packaging- This has the advantage of coming with extra liquid. We buy ours by a case through our local co-op and this way the price is reasonable. It's not very reasonable at our local grocery store.
Landjaeger sausage - keeps very well and does not need refrigeration. I believe the German Army travled on these for decades. How expensive it is depends largely on being in the right place at the right time.
Honey
Canned fruit- never throw away the juice from canned fruits and vegetables. Drnk it or bring it with you. Do not throw it away.
Instant pudding, powdered milk, and water (or liquid from canned fruit- stir together to make the pudding.
Vitamins
Candy- this will depend on where you live. In Alaska chocolate is just fine. In LA, I imagine it's a sticky, nasty mess.
A few boxes of crackers
Bisquick, or better yet, your own home-made instant biscuit mix. Remember to write out what you need to do to make biscuits, pancakes, or whatever and tape it to the bag, bucket, or box.
Granola (home-made recipe here)
Dehydrated foods. You can make your own. We've made dehydrated beans for family camping trips.
Vinegar- you need this for first aid and hygeine as well.
Know your area, know the types of needs you are most likely to have, and stock with your family in mind.
Remember to rotate through your supplies, replacing them and eating the older stock. This is important for two reasons- one is to keep your supplies in good order. The second is because it is important to be familiar with these foods. In an emergency you don't want to be experimenting. You want to be serving meals that are familiar, and even provide comfort, to your family. Disasters are incredibly stressful, and you think you won't care what you eat in the middle of an emergency, but some comfort food might just be the thing to keep you calm.
Other Items
Decent can opener
good pocket knife
tools (a hammer, flashlight, saw, and pliers because you may need to turn off gas and water lines...)
Matches and/or lighter
candles
batteries
Duct tape
This is just a starter kit, and I haven't even touched on the first aid items, or things like cell phones, writing down numbers just in case, taping shoes to the bottom of the bed, keeping dry socks and blankets in your car, and more.
Other resources
See links to some serious preparedness sites here.
Start Your Food Storage at 10.00 a Week
Ready.gov
Ready.gov's 'get a kit' site
Why one size doesn't fit all in a disaster preparedness plan.
A lot more here.
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7 Responses to “Frugal Disaster Prep”
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:47 am
Another good preparedness sits is http://www.simplyprepared.com.
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:48 am
that would be “site”
January 22nd, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Lots of good info here but I just have to embarrass myself and thank you for the Hawaiian tip on eating crunchy ramen noodles.
We’ve been making a mess for years by taking it out the package, sprinkling the seasoning packet and letting crumbs drop everywhere as we crunch away. My little ones are customarily banished to the outdoors when they partake.
Now we know how to eat them properly. We celebrated today by having the cheapest and most unhealthy lunch ever created – crunchy ramen noodles, Hawaiian style. mmmm.
January 23rd, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Inquiring minds want to know why to tape shoes to the bed. So they don’t float away in case of a flood?
January 24th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
This is really good info – I learned a few new things that we hadn’t implemented yet in our food storage – grinding beans and instant pudding – brilliant!
I have to say that sometimes a disaster isn’t what you’re thinking you’re preparing for. Last year I had a STRONG urge to really store up food. By August, hubby’s work had slashed salaries, and our family of 11 was in danger of going in the red. Thankfully, when hubby had to, by necessity, completely eliminate budgets – the grocery budget being one of them – we were ready. We literally ate through everything in our storage, with the exception of some of our buckets of dried items, and some spices/molasses/soup starters.
God was so kind to give us forewarning about this. Maybe this article is intended to do that for someone else, too!
January 25th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
I believe that most Americans who are plugged into what is going on in Haiti right now can easily put themselves in that spot and are wondering how they would get along if they were there. I really like that you mentioned learning about wild edibles and food sources for your region. This was something I spent a good deal of time learning about during the Y2K freak out, and I still have several books on the subject, besides actually supplementing our diet in the right season with some of those things. BTW, you pay big bucks at the store for some things that your plucking out of your yard and throwing away! Cilantro, amaranth, dandelion greens…just to name a few.
January 27th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
My hubby has been swearing we’ll have “the big one” in the near future, and I’ve been trying to stock up on supplies little by little. Thanks for the frugal ideas! Now I can start putting things away bit by bit.
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