Emergency Preparations...Thoughts on Irene

In watching all the folks gear up for Irene, it has made me look inward as to what my emergency preparation status is. I ask you as well as myself, "If Irene were hitting your home today, would you be ready?"

From last week's pickle canning. 25lbs = 24 jars.

Last year I did a series on some of our emergency preparations. I told you about the time we were evacuated from our home due to fire and how our preparations saved us from undue discomfort. It certainly reaffirmed our need to update some of those preparations which we have since done so. 

I was first introduced to "prepping," as it is called, when I was asked to be the emergency preparations coordinator for my church group while at college. At that point I had little experience preparing for emergencies aside from some dry and canned goods that we kept around the house. Really, though, Mom and I had little extra funds for such preparations. Had I known then what I do today about such preparations, we probably would have moved its importance higher on our scale of priorities.


I know sometimes folks scoff or even joke at our preparations. Some just say, "I'll just come to your house if there's ever an emergency." Some are curious and ask questions. Some reply and say, "Which is your favorite website for food purchases?" And some give the blank stare of bewilderment like we subscribe to some odd cult. 

For us, self sufficiency is of utmost importance. We are not in a place in our lives right now to be completely self-sustained. However, we strive to ensure that we have enough food, water, and other supplies so if there were an emergency situation, we would be prepared. Even a disruption in food supply chain makes a huge impact as more and more agriculture is taking place great distances from where it will eventually be sold. We want to ensure that our family is provided for in case of emergency - period. 


We encourage others to do the same. I've taught home canning classes and tortilla making from food storage supplies. T Rex Dad has taught others how to store dry goods. And yes, we do have some "refugee rations" for folks who say they'll just come to our place in case of an emergency. However, when the refugee rations run out, you better hope the disaster has past or have other plans. 


So, in answering my initial question, the absolute honest answer would be a resounding "yes". We have plenty of food, water, batteries, flashlights, candles, fuel, diapers, wipes, toilet paper, medical supplies, radios, communication devices, plus many other items I cannot think of off the top of my head. We are ready. This has taken many years to achieve. It was not something we did overnight or in one day. A trip to Wal-Mart would not even begin to cover our preparations. It could be a good start. 

(Also a quick note to those folks who are going through Irene, the T Rex Family household will be sending good thoughts and prayers your direction.)


How about you, "If Irene were hitting your home today, would you be ready?" What would it take to motivate you to start preparing for emergencies?

Emergency Preparations - Part III - Canning

Thus far, I've discussed our family emergency preparations in the form of 72 hours "jump bags" and diapering the baby. Now I move onto canning...

You've probably noticed it's been a week since I've posted anything - it probably has something to do with the 80lbs of organic peaches that showed up at our home this week or the blackberries and huckleberries that defrosted from the freezer and needed to be turned to jam and pies. It's been a busy week. Oh, and the tiny little detail about one of my best friends (and the kids' friends, too) suddenly moving away - that's been ever present on our minds, too. More on that later.

I start school in just a couple days. I'm pretty nervous but excited. I start clinical rotations which should bring some interesting adventures. However, what better time to get some more of my emergency preparations done than a brief school break?

That is, when not chasing two little ones...and for those who often inquire how I do it? Naps and bedtime...I get most of my work done when they are sleeping. T Rex is into everything and has to be watched every second and Bebe Sister is not far behind. And, I don't like heating the house up during the day, so most of the canning is done early in the morning or later in the evening. If T Rex Dad is home, I have a little extra time during the day, too.

In the past couple weeks I've done pickles, blackberry jam, huckleberry jam, peach jam, and canned peaches. These make an excellent addition to the dry goods in our pantry or excellent bartering goods or gifts.

I use this website for all my canning instructions. Sometimes I change a couple things but this is the best reference I've found for my needs. Here is our organic peach canning process.

20lb box of organic peaches and Costco size bag of organic sugar - the peaches were kind of expensive ($48/20lb box) but we try extremely hard to do all organic produce, at least as often as possible. And there was an advantage to purchasing in bulk - hence 80lbs.

My "students" (slave labor) washing/peeling. We had the jars in the dishwasher while we did this.

Perfect ripe peach - first wash, then soak in hot water, then soak in cold water.

Same peach minus the skin - after the hot/cold process, often the skins come right off. Then they just need to be cut in halves or quarters and placed in jars.

Here from right to left - cleaning, peeling, pitting/halving then into jars. The non-desirable peaches (bruised or too soft) are perfect for jam or baby food. T Rex Princess is okay with the peach baby food as long as we add cinnamon.

Fill jars with syrup mixture - 6 cups water to 2 cups sugar. For 40lbs we made a triple batch. This is the light syrup recipe but you can make it sweeter if you want. The sugar water needs to come to a boil for just about 5 minutes and then be kept hot until poured directly into the jars to cover the peaches. Don't let the peaches sit out in the air too long without being in either cold water or in the jars with the hot water or they will discolor.

Lids need to be kept in near boiling water until ready to place on jars.


Place covered jars into hot water bath.

Cook for 25 minutes - I start the timer when at a rolling boil. Ideally, I try to have at least 2 inches of water on top of the jars. This is how I've done it for almost 10 years - never had a jar not seal or any jars spoil. We're at nearly 4000 feet altitude, too.

Carefully remove hot, completed jars.


Admire your work!!! Seriously gorgeous and seriously delicious!

And a shout of thanks for my "students" - we had a great time canning and chasing babies!

What canned goods are in your pantry or are you planning to can?

Emergency Preparations - Part II

Diapering the baby...

In a previous post I discussed the 72 hour kit that sits in the back of my car. When we were evacuated from our home, the only thing we were lacking in adequate supply were diapers. A kind friend generously dropped off a package of disposables along with a port-a-crib at the place we were staying. I had just assumed my diaper bag had an adequate supply. And actually, it did. But had we needed to be gone longer than we were, we most certainly would have run out.

Now, T Rex is no longer in diapers but T Rex Princess is and not wearing disposables like T Rex but rather cloth. I see this as both a disadvantage and advantage. Disposables are much more trim to pack and easily disposed of but if we're unable to get to a supply of diapers, we will eventually run out. Cloth, on the other hand, can be washed and reused. Here is what we have:

Diaper supplies: 3 waterproof covers, 6 prefolds, 4 flats, 12 fleece liners, 10 Flip disposable/compostable inserts, 2 disposable diapers, wet bag, disposable wipes (these can be washed and reused if need be), and changing pad. We've also packed supplies for cleaning the diapers.

Laundry soap - Charlie's Soap (could also clean our clothes, too, as we use this kind on all of our laundry not just diapers), backing soda, measuring scoop, and clothes pins. I've put everything in the sack and included it in the diapering supplies. All the diapering supplies are contained within the sack directly above the shoes in the photo below.

Flats and prefolds and the associated diaper covers clean easily and dry quickly, they do not take up a lot of space, and they are cheap. In this way, I can keep an emergency stash in the car without breaking the bank to do so. Plus, I will never find myself without diapers!

If you have a child in diapers, do you have enough diapers with you in case of an emergency?

(P.S. I drive a Ford Escape - it's not a large vehicle but rather a small SUV - definitely bigger than T Rex Dad's Jetta but more room for all of us, including dogs, should the need arise for evacuating the house again - for those who think my car is really big to carry all this stuff. Thank you for all your excellent comments on the previous emergency preparations posting. I welcome your feedback and input and because of it have included a couple more items in my pack.)

Emergency Preparations - Part I

Two years ago...

T Rex was fast asleep and T Rex Dad and I were enjoying the long summer night (during the summer months it does not get dark until 9:30/10:00). We were also busy getting ready for work the next day. I recall my boss was coming to town to work with me and also give me my mid-year review.

Then a friend of mine called and asked if we were leaving our house. "Why?" I asked. She then told me there was a fire right by the house. We walked to our back yard which overlooks the valley and saw nothing. We went back to our preparations for the following day. Then another friend called asking the same thing. She was a lot more insistent that we should leave. We decided to sit for a moment and consider our options.

Honestly, with T Rex being asleep, we really did not want to bother him but we thought it might be wise to gather a few things just in case. Then someone began frantically ringing the doorbell. We answered, a girl came by saying the fire department said we should start packing our things. Then the phone started ringing non-stop. We would answer by saying, "We're heading out the door." As we were loading the car with our bags, dogs, child, and fire safe, the police were coming by ordering the evacuation. We were mostly prepared, but there were still a few things we were wishing we had had.

We went to some friends' house and waited it out. It was the most eerie feeling that night wondering if we would have a home to go return to. We returned the next morning. Several homes in the neighborhood burned to the ground. There was massive property damage. One person died. We were spared. I did meet with my boss that day who was completely impressed that I was working that day despite the ordeals of the preceding night. He gave me a glowing review and a raise! (He insisted it had nothing to do with the fire.)

I've been watching similar storms roll through our area, much like the one that started that fire two years ago. It's reminded me that it is time to post what we are doing for emergency preparations in the way of our 72 hour emergency preparedness kits. Those were what we used for our evacuation. To our knowledge, we were the only ones in the neighborhood with such preparations. The only thing we could have had more of were diapers, but aside from that, we were prepared.

This week...

I updated the kit with fresh supplies and appropriate clothes for the kids. This kit is specifically for my car and for the kids and myself (T Rex Dad carries his own pack with him at all times). The kit remains in the car in case we are away from our home. The intent is two-fold - tie us over if we have to leave our home in an emergency or tie us over until we can get back to our home, in case of an emergency.

Here is what we have:

Food and Water: Water pouches (we also carry 2-3 bottles of water in the car at any given time but these are separate and specific to the kits ) 8 total, water filter, Emergency food ration bar (9 complete meals), MREs (1 full meal and 5 snacks), Fruit strips (for T Rex), Freeze dried yogurt melts (for T Rex), Freeze dried strawberries (for T Rex) 2 packets, apple sauce pouches (for T Rex and T Rex Princess when she's on solids) 6 total. T Rex Princess still gets most of her nutrition from breast milk so as long as I am eating, she will be, too. Important to pack food your kids will eat.

Emergency sleeping bags - 4 total (very center in above photo)

Other miscellaneous items: sun screen, sunglasses (for kids and me), soap, bug spray, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, lip balm, hand sanitizer, hand/feet warmers.

Other items not pictured: Flashlight, pocket knife, clothes/PJs for kids and myself (including underclothes, socks, and shoes), protectitive sun hats and coats for all of us, baby carrier, blanket and burp cloth, first aid kit, trash sack, and diapering supplies. (I'll post my cloth diaper emergency pack in a later posting.)

Everything fits nicely in the back of the car.

It is all mostly contained within the crate. We don't yet have a bag that fits everything but we're working on that. Right now, the crate is just fine. Plus, there is plenty of room for the dogs and/or stroller. I still need to have a functioning area in the back of my car. But this way, we are always prepared. Prepared for emergencies or prepared in case we did not pack food for the kids, run out of diapers, need a change of clothes, or simply want some comfortable walking shoes.

Stay tuned...more posting on diapering the baby, canning, short term food storage, and long term food storage. In the side bar I've added some links we refer to for our various emergency preparations.

What's in your 72 hour emergency kits?