See which family has it together and which family doesn’t. Would you be ready to evacuate your home in 10 minutes?

For the 11th week: March (15-21)

Week # 11: 30 Gallons of Drinking Water
(If you can’t accomplish this in 1 week, don’t worry, just take your time and do it in baby steps.)

Baby Steps:

1. Choose Container & Location for storage
2. Collect or Purchase containers
3. Fill & Date Containers

Why store water?

• Storage of water is one of the simplest but most neglected areas of emergency preparedness. Many people store dried storage foods such as powdered milk, beans, rice, etc. which required water for eating.
• One gallon of water weighs 8 lbs.
• Water is more essential than food in sustaining life.

How much water do I store?
According to the Red Cross and Civil defense, you need a minimum of 14 gallons per person for a 2 week period. That is enough for:
1 gallon per person per day, which is bare minimum survival.
3 gallons needed for enough water for personal hygiene, doing dishes.
4 gallons to have enough for more personal care, to wash clothing and minimal cleaning.
If you have pets you need to remember to include about a gallon a day per dog and a pint per day per cat.

Click here to order these water tanks online. Kind of pricey but worth it!

Shelf life of water?
Water must be stored in clean containers and out of sunlight. If stored properly water should have an indefinite shelf life. It is advised that you trade out your water every 6 to 12 months. (Suggested every Oct. Conference or when you change your clocks.) After sitting for a while water will taste flat. You will need to pour it between containers to aerate.

How can I store water?

• Gallon of filtered water
• 1 or 2 liter pop bottles
• juice bottles
• mouthwash bottles
• V-8
• punch
• Gatorade
• pedialite bottles
• Any bottles that come with food liquid in them (except oil) can be used.
• DO NOT USE Milk and oil containers!
• barrels designated for water - Click here for instructions on making this horizontal water barrel storage.
• coke barrels
• food barrels, as long as the food doesn’t have fat in it
• DO NOT use metal containers!
• 5 gallon plastic water containers are available at army surplus, sporting good stores, discount stores and preparedness stores.
• Dish washing soap bottles, liquid laundry soap bottles & dish washing soap, liquid soap bottles too. After you use it all up, don’t rinse it out. Fill with water and label it soapy water. That way you will have it to use for sanitation and not have to use precious drinking water Cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, personal hygiene, etc.

Where can I store water?
Water is bulky, but in smaller containers you can tuck here and there.

• bathroom cupboards
• in the outer darkness corners of kitchen cupboards
• in the backs of closets
• corners of upper closet shelves
• book shelves
• Behind beds and under beds.
• Food Storage Room
• You can tie a piece of twine or rope around the neck of 2 liter containers, mount a 2×4 along storage walls and hook the liter bottles over nails on those boards. These can be run high next to the ceiling to use otherwise wasted space in storage areas.

Warning: Be sure and keep water out of sunlight, heat and off of concrete floors.

How do I treat water?
It is not necessary to treat water from a public water supply if it is already chlorinated.
Clorox - Amounts according to civil defense guidelines. Double if water is cloudy. After adding proper dosage, stir and allow to stand about 30 minutes.
Quart - 2 drops
½ Gallon - 4 drops
1 Gallon - 16 drops
5 Gallons - 1 tsp
Boiling - Most water can be purified for drinking purposes by boiling it for 5 to 10 minutes.
Purification Tablets - Tablets that release iodine may be used safely to purify drinking water.
Essentials of a water treatment kit -
1 bottle Clorox (Clorox will loose it’s “umph” after about 18 months, so this needs to be rotated.)
1 tsp measure
1 medicine dropper
1 funnel
Coffee filters (these would be for filtering water with debris)

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Click on the images below to view all 52 weeks at once or the recipes to go with it, in a .jpg or download the 52 Week Food Purchasing Plan (PDF) or the Custom 52 Week Food Purchasing Plan (Excel file) and calculate exactly how much you’ll need for the size of your family.

This awesome information found at: PreparednessNibblesAndBits.blogspot.com

During a disaster “just plan on losing your utilities.” It is important to have a Sanitation Kit because we don’t know when our disaster will be. The lack of proper sanitation can cause the spread of disease and even death.

Here’s some ideas for assembling your own Sanitation Kit:

SANITATION KIT:
“Luggable Loo*” - snap-on lid (fits 5 or 6 gallon buckets)
1 (5 or 6-gallon) bucket
Store the following inside your bucket until needed:

• Heavy Duty disposable garbage bags (you won’t want to deal with leaky bags
• 1 (12 oz.) “Super Sorb” (takes care of odors - available at janitorial supply stores)
• 1 container “Hi-Genic” (non-acid bowl and bathroom cleaner - available at janitorial supply stores)
• 1 bottle of hydrogen peroxide (natural disinfectant)
• 1 small bottle of vinegar
• 1 container baking soda
• 1 empty spray bottle
• 2 to 3 rolls toilet paper (with cardboard removed)
• 1 pkg. baby wipes
• Feminine hygiene supplies
• Disposable gloves
• Hand sanitizer
• Lotion (hand sanitizer will tend to dry out hands)
• Bonus: 2 emergency blankets (for your privacy screen if needed)

Directions: Empty contents of the bucket. Line the bucket with a heavy duty disposable garbage bag. Put 1 tablespoon “Super Sorb” into the garbage bag. Securely attach “Luggable Loo” lid. Keep lid closed when not in use. When bucket is 1/3 full, empty it by tying the bag up and disposing of it properly.

To dispose of waste:

Emergency Sewage Storage. “Keep on the premises at least one extra 10-gallon garbage can or other waterproof container with a tight fitting cover. This should be lined with paper and/or a plastic bag. And the lid should be fastened to the can to prevent its loss. Such a can may be used for the emergency storage of body wastes until the public sewage system can be put back into action, or until other arrangements can be made. Empty your emergency toilet into this storage can as often as necessary. A small amount of household disinfectant should be added after each use. If you live in an apartment, you may not have a large garbage can or room to keep one. In that case, two smaller covered pails or other containers will do just as well.” –http://www.pep-c.org/emergencysewagedisposal

Another option for disposing waste:

“When the plastic bag is filled to a point where you can carefully dispose of it, you will want a tight-fitting leak-proof container you can put the filled bags where insects and vermin cannot get at, or you may want to have a fairly deep hole (at least three to four feet deep) in your back yard where you can safely dispose of the bag, cover with a few inches of soil at each disposal and have a cover to keep vermin out and people from falling in….” –Sanitation, Part 1

For more detailed information regarding Sanitation check out:
http://www.pep-c.org/sanitation
Sanitation, Parts 1 & 2

*LUGGABLE LOOS are available at:

* Recreation Outlet, 3160 S. State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84115 (Sells the lid separately for $7.99 ea. or the bucket and lid for $12.99.)
* Cabela’s ($9.99 - lid only/$14.99 lid and bucket)
* Target (available on-line only) has a bucket and lid for $14.99
* Rei ($18.00 - lid and bucket)
* Google “luggable loo” to find the best prices and locations for you.

NOTE: “Be Ready Utah” has an idea for an Emergency “Porta Potty” Kit which includes Kitty Litter: http://bereadyutah.gov/family/potty.html

In order to make things simple and easy to get yourselves and families prepared we’ve created “Preparedness Baby Steps” and included it into this month’s newsletter. We sure hope you’ll find it easier to follow these basic steps instead of trying to tackle all goals all at one time. We want you to feel excited about becoming prepared, not overwhelmed and then to finally give up after trying for 2 weeks.

Click on the image below to view the Preparedness Baby Steps. Just pick an area to work on and do it one step at a time.

Click here to view all of the newsletters.

We’ve got the December newsletter ready. We’re excited about this one. It’s the end of the year and we’ve made another list. An Emergency Car Kit list in the form of a Crossword Puzzle with pictures. That’s right a game! It’s our gift to you. We hope you have fun while filling it out and putting your car kit together with your families.

We had fun doing it and we know we’ll be prepared when we’re traveling to our parents’ houses for the holidays in Centerville and Eagle Mountain. We hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving & a very Merry Christmas!

Click here to view all of the newsletters for 2008.

One of the sisters I visit teach gave me a Heater in a Can as a gift. Thank you! I love it so much that I am going to post how to make one here. I am sure we’ll have a group buy for this and activity to put it together in 2009, but for now I am just putting the instructions on the site so we don’t forget. Enjoy!

Uses:
Heater in Home
Heater in Car during winter months.
Heater for Camping
Heater for your 72 hour kit.

Supplies:
1 empty quart can (you can purchase at any paint store)
1 bottle of rubbing alcohol
1 roll of toilet paper (with cardboard removed)
paint can opener (you can purchase at any paint store or mini philips screwdriver. )
pack of matches or lighter.

To make as a gift: Remove core of toilet paper. Fold the roll of toilet paper in half and stuff into the empty quart can. Put the can and the rest of the items in a ziploc bag separately so the recipient may pour the alcohol in the can when heat is needed. Copy the text below and include it with the kit.

Assembly for Use:

1. Remove core of toilet paper
2. Fold the roll of toilet paper in half and stuff into the empty quart can.
3. Slowly pour 1 pint alcohol into can.
4. Light w/ lighter or match.
5. To extinguish, replace the lid.
6. Put the following instructions in with the rest of the items.

Instructions for using Emergency Car Heater:
Use 70% isopropyl alcohol-any higher percent the flames could be too high. Do not use scented alcohol, it will smell awful in your car. 4 pints of isopropyl will keep a car 60 to 70 degrees for 24 hours. They are extremely safe and don’t produce carbon monoxide.

Warnings: Be careful the can rim will be hot to touch during and for a while after burning, although the can could be held from the bottom even while the heater is burning. It is suggested that you carry a metal pan or cookie sheet or fold a square of tin foil into fourths to set the heater on. Do not pour more alcohol on the heater while burning. Wait for it to burn out or smother with metal lid.

**It is recommended that you keep a window cracked open while burning the heater.**

This heater is NOT recommended for cooking!

So, I searched the internet to find ways to bake your food without electricity. I found 2 sites which were showing how to bake in Box Ovens which only required charcoal to heat them.

Click on the images or links below to view the step by step instructions on how to build either one of these yourself at home for future use in case of emergency power outages or even when camping.

1. Cardboard Box Oven by SafelyGatheredIn.blogspot.com

Note: be sure to read some of the comments posted in the article: don’t use glue or tape on inside of box and use un-coated wires.

2. Cooking with a Cardboard Box Oven by PragerFamily.net

What I love about these charcoal box ovens is they can actually bake at the same temperatures as our regular ovens at home.

Equation: 1 charcoal = 35-40 degrees F. Each charcoal briquette supplies 35-40 degrees of heat, so 9 briquettes will give us approx 360 degree oven. So just use the standard bake times.

Great YouTube video on what to include in a 72 hour kit. Part 2 of 2.

Note: This is to help you decide what will be best for your family. You must use the information which is freely provided in assessing the needs of your family. Each individual is different and every family’s needs are different too.

There are 2 pages to the flyer being passed out by the 72 Hour Kit Booth at the 2008 Stake Emergency Preparedness Fair

• Front = Front Basic 72 hour Kit List
• Back = Why you need a 72 hour kit, Car Kit, Child Kit & Pet Kit info.

Let us know if you have any questions or ideas.

Click on the JPG images below to view them as images. The images will just be enlarged on a new page which you can print or save to your computer.

Here’s the file for the contents of the 72 hour Kits which were purchased through the church. You’ll need a copy of this with your kits to make sure you know what you have and what you still need to get.

72 Hour Kit Contents.jpg