Sanitary conditions are taken for granted by most of us, but without adequate amounts of water and electricity, those conditions will disappear very quickly.  Women, especially, must have sanitary conditions provided…it is not an option for them.

      There are cleansing products that can be used for body and hair that require no rinsing, therefore saving your water for drinking.  All kinds of soaps and detergents can be accumulated now while it’s inexpensive.  Hand washing soaps with a high percentage of isopropyl alcohol is very good and quite cheap right now.  Keep plenty of toilet tissue on hand plus any feminine products required by family members.

     You can make a portable toilets using a five gallon plastic bucket and placing a plastic or mylar bag in the bucket in the event the county or city is no longer able to provide water and sewer services.

     Household bleach, with no fragrance added, can be used to sanitize surfaces, water and toilets. If you use bleach with fragrance DO NOT USE TO PURIFY DRINKING WATER. Heat is the biggest enemy of bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite) so keep it in a cool spot but not freezing cold and away from direct sunlight.

     When you say “emergency lighting”, I recon most people visualize the lights over doorways at the local Wal-Mart.

     Here we are only concerned with hand held lighting.  Battery powered flashlights should be found in every home.  We have at least 10 in our home at various locations around the house.

     What I really want to talk about is the latest iteration of hand held lighting… “light sticks” or “glow sticks”  These are made of 2 liquids enclosed in a long, strong plastic pouch (think “Slim Jim”).  The first liquid is poured into the pouch.  The other liquid is sealed in a very thin glass vial and dropped into the pouch with the first liquid.  The pouch is then sealed.  To activate, bend the pouch until the glass vial breaks and shake vigorously to mix the liquids.  The warmer the temperature the brighter the light, and the shorter the light output.  The time span on most is 8-12 hours.  Eight hours is at a warm temperature, and 12 hours is at a cooler temperature with a lesser light.  These sticks are light weight and quite affordable at about $1.00 each.

   As a former EMT, I can tell you that most people are not prepared for any emergency, much less a medical one.  It may sound silly or exaggerated, to suggest a Red Cross first aid course, or advanced first aid course, (EVEN BETTER).  In the event of a national disaster all emergency agencies will be stretched to the breaking point.  If you invested a few hours of your time in Red Cross classes (these are given at convenient locations and times, at little or no cost nation wide).  How would you feel if you were able to save the life of a family member or a neighbor? PRICELESS!

     Along with water and food you should also have a well stocked emergency kit.

Safety, Heat, Water, Food, Medical, Lights, Sanitation

Water is even more important than food…

            Water is more urgent than food!  The consensus is that after three (3) days without water, the body will begin to shut down.  People will become disoriented and may exhibit poor judgment.  This alone could cause injury or much worse. As always, the young and the elderly are the most susceptible.

            I urge you in the strongest terms to store a minimum of two (2) liters per day, per person of drinking water.  Water used for personal hygiene does not need to be as pure as drinking water, but pure enough to not cause infections.  Boiling is usually enough to use for a sponge bath.  Healthy people can survive for three weeks or more without food (but please don’t try it).  If forced upon you it will be bad enough and practicing is not going to make you better at it.

Food in the pantry is better than money in the bank.

It’s certainly okay to have money in the bank, but it may not be accessible or usable when you need it.  During hard times in the past, banks have been shut down or accounts frozen.  If this were to happen, it would probably be too late to implement a food storage program for your family.  For those reasons, it’s important that you first attend to your food storage needs.  Food storage also enables families to purchase much more efficiently.  By buying for several months or year at a time, such as Wise Grab n’ Go buckets or you can buy in bulk and take advantage of seasonal sales.  You can purchase cases of items when they come on sale.  You should have at minimum of a month of food for your family.  Once this is achieved work towards 3 months then 6 mo then a year supply of food.  Buy food with the longest shelf life possible and remember to rotate and use the food before it expires.

Safety, Heat, Water, Food, Medical, Lights, Sanitation

 I put this near the top because of the young and the elderly.  Hypothermia can set in quickly and painlessly and become fatal.  There are propane heaters on the market that are so efficient that they don’t require ventilation.  That said, they still will consume oxygen and should not be used in small confined spaces. Oxygen replacement must be taken into consideration.  Space blankets and sleeping bags (made using foil coated mylar) are cheap and readily available.  They reflect body heat and are quite good at what they do.  They are, in addition, very light weight and added to a backpack will not even be noticed.

     Safety is number one on the list because if you slipped on some ice and broke your pelvis you would not be any help to your family for many weeks.  Safety should be a family effort… get everyone involved.  Work out a plan of escape in case of a fire at your home and try to plan for any emergency. Your particular situation will help determine your most likely events.  An older wood frame house would be more likely to burn than a concrete block building, for instance.  Get kids involved and consider their every suggestion.  You never know when a real gem might come from a child… their fertile minds aren’t constrained yet.